A Headmaster's Dragon unleashed
by RedDragon30000
Summary: Dinah Hunter finds out that the Demon Headmaster is taking over Myspace.To stop him, she attempts to convert one of his most trusted servants: his Head Prefect in charge of his domination of Myspace. However, things don't go according to plan... NOW REWRITTEN WARNING: This story contains some chapters with corporal punishment. Don't like, don't read those chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Dinah Hunter sat in the quiet library, finishing off some equations she had found inside an algebra textbook. Although she still attended the same school with Harvey and Lloyd, she was always dong things to exercise her mind. This was because the regular schoolwork for her age group was too simple and she wanted something to challenge her intellect. Tiredly rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her watch. Her eyes widened as she realised just how many hours she had been doing the equations. Right now she needed a break. She knew that reading would not interest her at the moment, so she decided to see what she could find to interest her on the internet. Although many would accuse her of being a bookworm, Dinah was becoming fascinated by the mechanics and content of the internet and was always discovering new delights.

Idly browsing through google, she came upon a website that fascinated her. The website was called 'MySpace' and she browsed through several profiles, marvelling at the variety she looked at. Some profiles were bland and had obviously copied the style of several others, while there were a few profiles that had obviously been constructed carefully and painstakingly. She soon came across one that caught her eyes. The profile belonged to someone who called themselves 'Red Dragon'. She grinned as she examined her profile; she obviously had a _serious _dragon fixation. Red Dragon's description of herself made her laugh out loud, as she described herself as 'Dragon obsessed' and having a 'bad temper'. As she idly looked at Red Dragon's friend list, she saw something that caused her heart to beat faster. _It can't be! _She yelled silently. It just couldn't be _him_. She closed her eyes and opened them again, hoping she had imagined it, but the picture and words remained the same.

It had to be him. He had put a picture up that she recognised instantly, and there was no mistaking his title: 'The Demon Headmaster'. Although she had heard Lloyd, Harvey and Ingrid refer to him by this name; she had always referred to him as 'The Headmaster'. 'The Demon Headmaster' made him seem fictional, as if he wasn't real. With hands that shook, she clicked on the picture to access the Headmaster's profile. There was no way that she could deny it was him now. She apprehensively read the many comments he had received. There were many that said that people found him scary, and a few which made fun of him (which made her smile). There was even one that said a girl would rather join SPLAT than listen to him. This gave Dinah a surge of hope. However, this was instantly crushed as she read a comment replying to the pervious one, vigorously defending the Headmaster, and expressing their loyalty. She was saddened to find that it was Red Dragon's comment. Until she had found the Headmaster's profile, she had felt a fondness for her vitality and energy. A small idea came to her. Maybe she could turn this girl away from the Headmaster? From Red Dragon's position in his friend list, it was clear that she was an important servant of the Headmaster.

She hastily created an account with MySpace, not wanting to leave that girl as the Headmaster's drone a moment longer. Once she had finished, she sent a message, hoping that she could turn Red Dragon away from the Headmaster.

Meanwhile, Red Dragon was playing Dragonfable, hacking a boss monster to pieces, and hoping that the staff of this online game would hurry up with updates. As she waited for an attack to finish, she accessed her MySpace account, and was surprised to discover a new message. She read it, her eyes widening in horror. The message pleaded with her to break away from the Headmaster, to help to destroy his plans and ruin him again. She read with shock who the message was from. _Dinah Hunter_. A slow surge of resentment rose within her as she studied the message again. How _dare _Dinah try and turn her against the Headmaster! She felt a fierce loyalty to him which had now been strengthened by this heartfelt message from his greatest enemy. Closing down the offending message, she started a message of her own to the Headmaster, explaining the situation, and that Dinah Hunter had made contact with her. The Headmaster replied with a brisk, detailed message, giving her instructions on how to deal with 'Miss Clever Hunter'. It started:

'Dear Red Dragon,

It seems that I was right in promoting you to Head Prefect. It seems that Miss Clever Hunter has underestimated your loyalty to me, which will be her undoing…'

Red Dragon grinned as she read the message. Soon Miss Hunter would regret trying to convert the Headmaster's servants. Especially as the Headmaster's prized Dragon would be unleashed on her…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **You wanted a sequel, so here it is. A Big thank you for all those who have reviewed so far.

**Chapter 2**

Dinah waited for as long as possible for a reply to the message she had sent. She was prepared to sit there all day if she had to; she wanted to see if her plan to destroy the Headmaster was going to bear fruit. After a wait of about 30 minutes, a new message appeared. She accessed it hoping it was from Red Dragon. It was. Her heart was thumping wildly. Either the girl had reported her message to the Headmaster like a loyal Prefect would, or what Dinah had said in her message had persuaded her to turn away from him and help SPLAT. As she read it, her heart seemed to grow light. Dinah had obtained the result she had hoped for, according to the reply:

'_Dinah? Dinah Hunter? I can hardly believe it. You have no idea how much you have helped me just by sending your message. As soon as I saw your name, it slightly broke the Headmaster's hold over me. I am afraid I still must obey his orders to some extent, but at least some of his control has been dissolved. I can be very useful to you, as I have an insider's view of the Headmaster (if you can call it that) and his plans. Any ideas what I can do from my high position?'_

Dinah quickly composed a reply and sent it, her eyes flickering to Red Dragon's profile to check that she was still online. When she saw that she was, Dinah took out her phone and dialled a number. "Hello? Lloyd, its Dinah…I have something very important to tell you and SPLAT. Call a SPLAT meeting and I will meet you in the shed in about half an hour". Putting the phone away she put on her coat and ran towards the bus stop.

A few miles away, Red Dragon was impatiently waiting for Dinah's reply to the message she had sent. When it came she read it hurriedly, and then gave a snort of contempt and mirth. Really, for a girl that was meant to have an abnormally high IQ, Dinah was being very gullible:

'_I am so glad that I have helped you regain control over yourself. Yes, I am sure there is a great deal you can do to help SPLAT, but I am not going to tell you what until I have had a proper SPLAT meeting with all the others. Then we can start to move against the Headmaster. I will be offline until tomorrow, but I will report back what SPLAT and I have agreed.'_

This was just what she had been hoping for. Printing out copies of the messages that had so far passed between Dinah and herself, Red Dragon placed it in a folder and put it carefully in her schoolbag. Shrugging it on, along with her coat, she wheeled her bike out onto the road and pedalled as fast as she could towards a grey, large, solid building on the outskirts of town. Riding past the main entrance, she stopped at a side door, which had '_staff only´ _written on it. Locking her bike to some nearby railings, she tapped on the door three times. It was opened by a dark haired girl, slightly older than herself. She always seemed to radiate the opinion that she was better than you, and acted as if she knew it. Looking down her nose at Red Dragon she demanded "Did it work?" and glared at her as if challenging her to fail.

Red Dragon glared back and said coldly "That is between me and the Headmaster, as well you know Rose Carter". Rose opened her mouth, an expression of outrage on her snobbish face. Now completely ignoring her, (which she knew she would regret later) she sidestepped around her and strode off down the corridor, stopping in front of a door that had the word 'Director' on it. She knocked. A cold, clipped voice snapped "Enter" and she slowly walked into the office.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I can't stop writing this fic. I think it has a hypnotic hold over me 0_0. It's scaring me!

**Chapter 3**

Red Dragon opened the door and carefully closed it behind her. On the other side of the room, sitting at a large desk and going through some experiment results, sat the Headmaster. He looked up as she came in, a flash of light reflecting off his dark glasses. "What are you doing here?" his voice held a trace of irritation, but was otherwise expressionless. For answer she took the folder out of her bag and held it out towards him. He took it from her hand, almost snatching in his eagerness to see how the first stage of his plan had gone. He nodded approvingly as he read the messages. "You have done well. It is obvious that she has no idea about whose side you are truly on, your skill with words is apparent here". Red Dragon inclined her head slightly in recognition of the compliment. It was rare that she was praised and she felt privileged when her hard work was recognised.

Slipping the paper back into the folder, the Headmaster enquired "When will she next be available?" Red Dragon wondered why he was asking her that question when the answer was on the paper he had just read. Fighting to keep the irritation from her voice, she replied "She said that she would be back online tomorrow. Apparently she is calling a SPLAT meeting, which most certainly means that she will try to give me instructions."

The Headmaster studied her for a long moment, and seeing no trace of emotion in her face; favoured her with a smile that was barely discernable. Red Dragon felt very much as though she had passed some kind of test, but dared not question the Headmaster on the subject. Nodding thoughtfully to himself as he considered his prefect's information, he made no effort to conceal his annoyance as a knock sounded at the door. With more force than perhaps he had intended, he snapped "Enter!" Red Dragon flinched and backed away from him slightly, her feet brushing the edge of the evolution accelerator which had been moved from the creeper-filled BRC to the Headmaster's currant lab.

The door opened and Rose came into the office. There was an expression on her face akin to indignation, and Red Dragon gained the impression that she would soon unburden herself by delivering a tirade against her rival prefect. She was not disappointed "Please Sir, I think it is very unfair that Red Dragon is involved in your plans and I am not. You are favouring her, she's only been your Prefect for six months and she is doing all the important jobs!" Red Dragon fought to keep her face under control, and outwardly showed no reaction. However, inside she was calling Rose every bad name she could think of. At that precise moment she felt a combination of urges, from slapping that self-satisfied look off her smug face, to watching the Headmaster's reaction to having his orders questioned. Eventually she decided on the latter. The Headmaster frowned at this resistance and said in a dangerously soft voice "Firstly, you know better to question my orders, I expect better from you. Secondly, the reason Red Dragon is involved in my plans is because she is the Head Prefect of my online operations, and it is much easier to use her to ensnare Dinah Hunter, as she has a power base established there. Thirdly, I am in no way favouring her and I am astounded that you perceive me to be" Rose scowled but did not comment further. There was a look on his face that promised retribution to the next person who even so much as _mentioned_ his orders.

The Headmaster picked up the results and moved over to a bookcase to put them in the relevant folder. While he was occupied Rose hissed in a savage whisper "You may have been able to get away with forcing me out of my right to be involved in the Headmaster's plans, but you will not stay in your position for long". Her scowl turned into a sneer "with all your devotion to the Headmaster, you are nothing more than a beginner; you must do as I say!" This was something that Red Dragon was incapable of ignoring and she darted a burning glare in her direction. She knew that if she retaliated with words then the Headmaster would hear her; and he was in a mood where it could mean serious consequences if the heavy silence in the office was in any way disturbed. However, there _was _something she could do which would not attract his attention. Keeping one eye on the Headmaster, she did something she had wanted to do for a long time. She gave Rose the finger.

Rose gaped at her, her eyes wide, unable to believe that a junior prefect would treat her with such disrespect. Then she snapped "How dare you! You freak! No wonder your mother died, she was probably trying to get away from you!" That did it. Red Dragon could take a lot of things, but one thing she could not stand was anyone attacking her with her mum's death. All her self control and calmness snapped. She suddenly snarled "_Don't you go saying things about my mum you self-satisfied bitch!"_

Instantly the Headmaster spun round, his lab coat snapping, and an expression of utter fury crossed his face. His voice suddenly thundered through their dispute, making both of them jump. "STOP THIS CHILDISH ARGUMENT AT ONCE! I am ashamed that both of you would act this way! This is no way for Prefects, especially ones as high ranking as you, to behave. You are meant to be setting an example!" Red Dragon swallowed, a combination of fear and burning rage twisting her insides. She also felt ashamed, as she knew she should not have reacted to Rose's taunts. The Headmaster hated any outburst of strong emotion and he was now very disappointed that the Prefect who had shown such control earlier had now succumbed to her emotions. Unable to meet his gaze, she hung her head, muttering "Sorry, Sir" and staring at the spotless floor.

Rose, however, was not going to let such a breach of authority go unchecked. "I will say anything I want about your mother! Don't you give me orders! You must obey _me_!" Rose was so angry that she gave Red Dragon a hard shove. Taken by surprise, she toppled backwards, landing on the evolution accelerator. Which at that moment was fully active. Suddenly, she felt a most terrible, burning pain spread throughout her entire body. She was only able to loose a single agonised scream before everything seemed to dissolve.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The first thing Red Dragon was aware of was two voices, speaking close to her. As they spoke, she recognised the Headmaster's cold, brisk tones, and Rose's sneering speech. Groggily, she attempted to get herself upright, but unhappily discovered that her limbs would not obey her, and all she could do was twitch her hands and feet. She resigned herself to being stuck where she was for the moment and attempted to focus on the discussion occurring close by. At the moment, the Headmaster was speaking in a tone of voice which caused her to shudder. When the Headmaster was angry, he did not normally shout, but his voice became like ice, and any sensible person would have recognised that tone of voice and either ran for the nearest exit or attempted to placate him. "What you did was unacceptable. She was stopping the argument, and you have to continue by pushing her! Hopefully, you will see what damage such behaviour has caused and act in a mature manner in future." There was a splutter of outrage, and Red Dragon's eyes suddenly bulged in horror as she frantically thought _stop right now you idiot! You are going to make him angrier!_ However, Rose, being the kind of person she was, could not stop herself from answering him back. "You think I should have _stopped_ arguing?! She would not obey me! She is under _my _orders!"

There was gasp, and Red Dragon forced herself into a sitting position. She _had _to know what was going on, even if it caused the most terrible pins and needles when she moved. Rose and the Headmaster were standing in front of the door. The Headmaster, as she had feared, was looking furious, and Rose was looking slightly afraid, also wincing a little. The Headmaster was holding Rose's arm so tightly that it was obviously causing her pain; it appeared as if he had just grabbed her. When he spoke next, his voice was a hiss of fury. This caused Red Dragon to cower back and shut her eyes. "At least _she _knows when to stop! _You _on the other hand, are so arrogant that you think you are always right and that everyone must do what you say! Need I remind you that you are under _my _orders, and I will not tolerate any more feuding! This stops right now, is that clear?!" There was a quiet "Yes Sir" from Rose and the Headmaster spoke again. "Go home. I do not want to see you until Monday. You are lucky I don't demote you on the spot." Red Dragon opened her eyes again now that it seemed the target of his wrath was leaving, watching as the Headmaster let go of Rose's arm, and she walked out of the office with her head lowered.

She must have made some kind of noise to indicate her relief, as the Headmaster suddenly turned towards the Evolution Accelerator. Even though his eyes were hidden, she gained the impression that the Headmaster's cold and calculating eyes were locked with her own. Something seemed to startle him slightly, as he stepped backwards. Red Dragon had a nasty suspicion that it was something to do with her. What made here even more uneasy was that the Headmaster had been startled enough to let his reaction show, he rarely allowed any expression of his to demonstrate itself to those around him, even if they were loyal to him. "What…what is the matter Sir?" Her own voice seemed different somehow. It seemed to have a harsher edge to it, and she hissed (seemingly instinctively) whenever she said the letter 'S'. She gasped, her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and horror. Something had changed her voice, and right now she was close to panic, as she did not know what had. In answer to her question, the Headmaster walked swiftly out of the office, returning in a few moments with a small mirror, which he silently held up in front of her face. Red Dragon could not believe what she was seeing. A dramatic change had taken place. Her skin seemed to have a different texture. She brushed her face with her fingertips, feeling cool, hard, scales yet seeing ordinary flesh in the mirror. It was her eyes which had changed the most. Her irises had completely disappeared, leaving just the pupils. The whites of her eyes had changed colour, into intense fiery amber, almost orange. Her pupils were slitted slightly, a narrow strip of black dividing her eyes in half, with fiery amber each side. This was too much for her to deal with right now. She whimpered, snapping her eyes shut, not wanting to see her unnatural face any longer.

She heard footsteps as the Headmaster walked away from her. There was a _clink_, and she guessed that he had put down the mirror on his desk. She heard his footsteps again, this time returning to her. He stopped, and she felt him grasp her by the arm, urging her to her feet. She obeyed instinctively but stopped short with a high yelp of pain as she moved, the pins and needles returning with a vengeance. The Headmaster sighed and said "Even though it causes you pain, you must move to get off the Evolution Accelerator you are on. If it is triggered again, your may not survive." Red Dragon nodded and gritted her teeth, forcing her twitching limbs to obey her and tumbling off the Evolution Accelerator. The Headmaster hooked an arm around her chest and hauled her off the floor, easily heaving her onto the chair in front of his desk. She grunted as she landed in the chair, surprised that the Headmaster was acknowledging her desire to keep her eyes firmly shut. She had expected that he would demand that she open her eyes as soon as she had closed them, as he insisted that his Prefects make eye contact with him while they were in his presence, so they would know when he required them to obey orders.

He again moved away from her, and she heard the creak of its legs as he sat down in his own chair on the other side of the desk. For a while the Headmaster was silent, and Red Dragon waited patiently for him to speak. When he did, his voice was thoughtful; it was obvious he had just worked something out. "You will doubtless wish to know how your appearance and physiology has changed so drastically. Listen attentively, and I will explain…."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Red Dragon focussed her whole attention on what the Headmaster was saying, knowing how important it would be for her to know.

"You know, of course, that the Evolution Accelerator has not been used since it produced me as a clone of the original Headmaster. Thankfully, I have regained my missing memories and am complete once again. I had my scientists remove and reinstate it into my currant lab because I am not prepared to abandon my previous work on evolution and DNA. A few weeks ago I discovered an unknown DNA sample, and I have been attempting to find out where it comes from and what it is, as well as any useful properties I can incorporate into my plans. Part of that DNA sample is currently ready to be combined with another, as soon as the Evolution Accelerator activates around it. Or should I say _was_?"

He paused, and Red Dragon felt sufficiently restored to open her eyes. To her annoyance, the Headmaster was smirking smugly in her direction. She suddenly found herself wrestling with the strong, almost instinctive desire to growl at him. She finally managed to stifle the desire, but it made her feel confused and afraid, as she had no idea where it had come from.

The Headmaster studied her face for a long moment; apparently she had given away the fact that there was something wrong. She wondered if he would ask her about it, but instead he resumed his explanation.

"When you fell onto the Evolution Accelerator, it analysed your DNA and apparently deemed it compatible with the DNA sample within it."

Her eyes widened as she realised with horror what had happened.

"You…you mean my-"

He nodded, and cut her off, saying calmly

"Your DNA has combined with the unknown sample to create a new species, half-human and the other half an unknown creature".

The Headmaster frowned as she did not respond. A look of horror had flashed onto her face, as the full implications of the accident had finally struck her. She only now understood, she was no longer human, she had been permanently changed. She still had her eyes shut and was rocking backwards and forwards on her chair, this action the only indication of the acute distress she was experiencing. The Headmaster became increasingly irritated and shook her lightly, in an attempt to snap her out of her condition. When it didn't work, he decided that a more drastic action would be required. Eyes narrowed in concentration, he slapped her as hard as he could across the face. Red Dragon jerked violently with shock, almost falling off her chair, her eyes snapping open, her pupils widening so much that they looked almost normal. She blinked a few times, and then stared at the floor, suppressing the wince of pain she wanted to express at the sting in her cheek.

The Headmaster, however, was not prepared to let her wallow in self-pity and seized her chin, firmly lifting her head so she was looking at his face.

"Calm yourself. You are thinking too deeply about the negative side of your evolution. You must think of the positive implications".

Red Dragon frowned, and asked disbelievingly

"There is a positive side?"

The Headmaster gritted his teeth, trying to suppress a desire to slap the girl again.

"Yes, there _is _a positive side! This is one reason I detest all these wasteful emotions, they get in the way of progress, and now they are preventing you from embracing your new potential."

Red Dragon contemplated the Headmaster's words and then examined her new self for a few minutes, feeling her skin and discovering that these invisible scales totally covered her. She began to wonder how useful these scales could be, and if they could protect her in the same way that armour would. With a voice that seemed detached, and with a dreamy expression on her face, she asked the Headmaster

"Do you have a pin Sir?"

The Headmaster moved to his desk and took a pin out of a drawer, handing it to her. She poked at her arm and her face, discovering that the scales repelled it easily. She used it to stab at her arm, as hard as she could, and the pin snapped in two. She felt no pain, on both experiments. The Headmaster smiled approvingly. The girl was acting with logic and intelligence. It was important that she discovered what she could do in this improved state, as she could be more useful to his plans then he had anticipated before.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dinah Hunter got off the bus and ran to the shed where SPLAT gathered and had their meetings. She went faster than intended, as the bus had been late, and she knew they would not be able to start the meeting without her. As she shot through the door, Lloyd rolled his eyes and muttered crossly and slightly sarcastically

"Don't rush on our account…we've only been waiting fifteen minutes..."

Dinah apologised between pants as she got her breath back, before thumping him playfully on the shoulder

"Oh lighten up Lloyd, you know I wouldn't be late on purpose, SPLAT is the most important thing to me."

He scowled at her for a few moments before relaxing his face into a grin and said,

"Alright, I forgive you; I _know _how seriously you take SPLAT. Now, what do you want to tell us? It must be pretty important to call a meeting out of schedule".

Dinah did not answer immediately; instead she gathered her thoughts and prepared what she was going to say. She knew that if she didn't have her answer properly structured, the others would not be convinced by what she had seen.

"Do you know of a website called 'MySpace'?"

Lloyd rolled his eyes again

"Of _course_ we do! Everyone our age knows what 'MySpace' is! Where have you been living? In a box?"

Dinah ignored his uncomplimentary reference towards her and said,

"Well, while I was browsing through the profiles on there I came across one where the user was called 'Red Dragon'…"

She continued her description of the profile, as well as who was on the friends list. When she stopped, there was total horrified silence in the SPLAT shed. Everyone was staring at her, all of them most likely thinking the same thing that she had done: _it's not possible! _

At last the silence was broken by Harvey who stuttered

"B-but how is that possible? He's in a coma isn't he?"

Dinah shook her head sadly.

"Not anymore he's not. It is possible for someone in a coma to wake up. It seems that this is what's happened. And the worst of it is that he seems to have got his memory back"

Everyone's mood seemed to darken further. Mandy sighed.

"This is going to make it a lot more difficult to stop him. If he remembers everything, he is going to do his best to ensure that we can't interfere with his plans this time".

Dinah surprised the rest of SPLAT by smiling at what Mandy said.

"I've got good news for you. I have managed to persuade Red Dragon to betray the Headmaster and help SPLAT. It seems the Headmaster has placed her in a very important position, she is one of his Prefects".

The rest of SPLAT stared at her. Then Lloyd broke the silence.

"Do you think it's a good idea? What if she gets under the Headmaster's control again?"

Dinah sighed.

"I'm afraid it is a risk we will have to take. Anyway, his hold is only partly broken, hopefully not enough to arise his suspicions".

Turning away from Lloyd, so that she caught the gaze of the whole of SPLAT, she began to start a discussion on the best way to make use of Red Dragon.

In the Headmaster's lab, Red Dragon suddenly snapped out of her dreamy contemplation as the harsh reality of her situation confronted her. Unconsciously speaking her thoughts aloud, she wondered,

"How am I going to slip my appearance past my family? They will be sure to notice something…"

The Headmaster looked up from where he had been examining the snapped pin, frustrated by an issue that he saw as his Prefect's responsibility. He stated coldly:

"I fail to see how that is of _my_ concern."

This time Red Dragon could not restrain herself and let out an irritated growl. Taking note of her hostile expression, the Headmaster became slightly alarmed. He was not certain that he would be able to hypnotise her again if she threatened him. He decided that the wisest course of action would be to take responsibility for the issue she had mentioned.

"However, if you do not return to your house, your family will become suspicious. Can I suggest that you wear a pair of dark glasses? This way you will appear normal. So far no more physical oddities have manifested themselves, so your evolution should be easy to hide. However, you are to return to the laboratory by nine tomorrow morning. It will be easier to deal with things here if anything else should change ."

Red Dragon felt even more irritated, as she believed she should have come up with this solution herself. Not trusting herself to speak, in case her voice displayed her anger, she gave a curt nod. It was while the Headmaster was instructing one of his white-coats to fetch a pair of dark glasses; that it was discovered how much of her was truly human. Subtle changes which had been occurring to her senses while she was oblivious manifested themselves.

Suddenly everything changed. She could hear the breathing of herself, the Headmaster and the white-coat amplified many times over, as if it was happening right next to her. She could feel the texture of the floor as if she was standing on it in bare feet (although she was not), every ridge and every grain of dust creating a blend of sensations, some of pleasure, some of revulsion. It was her vision which changed the most. All the colours and objects in the room became ten times sharper and brighter, and she found that if she stared very hard at something, her vision automatically homed in on that area, the details becoming as clear as if she were seeing them through binoculars. She also found that the people in the room caused her to experience rapid mood swings. When she looked at the Headmaster, the feeling was one of peace and order. He also seemed to be surrounded by some kind of aura, which slowly changed colour. However, when she looked at the white-coat, she was struck with a wave of revulsion and fear. There was something so intensely evil about him that she almost staggered backwards from its strength.

The Headmaster was frowning at her,

"Red Dragon? Is there something wrong?"

His aura changed colour slightly, rippling from a drab grey to a hint of red. The evil she detected surrounded her, distorting and confusing her senses, so that it appeared as if the source of the evil was the Headmaster. Almost all rational thought left her, as the instincts from her other half took over. She gave a low, savage, snarl and barely registered the brief burst of pain as claws sprang from her changing fingers which were hardening and becoming more flexible. Her fully slitted eyes come to rest on the Headmaster and she hissed menacingly as she identified him as a threat. With a roar, she sprang towards him, instinctively running on all fours. She was not prepared when he abruptly disappeared, then was forced to stop, as she felt a sudden, sharp pain at the base of her neck. For the second time in the same day, everything went black.

When she became aware of her surroundings, she realised that she was in control once again. She blinked, bewildered as she realised that she was in a different place. Instead of sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk, she was sitting behind it, in the seat that he had previously occupied. She attempted to look around to see where he was, but to her dismay she couldn't move an inch. The Headmaster suddenly walked into her view, and he instantly accounted for her condition.

"A nerve-pinch"

He said bluntly.

"It was the best solution to stop you, while causing the minimum amount of damage."

Noting her terrified expression, he attempted to calm her.

"You need not worry; the effects will wear off in a quarter of an hour".

Striding to within a few feet of her, he placed a hand she could not feel on her head, turning her face to his.

"Now…"

He began

"Tell me what happened…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Red Dragon closed her eyes to collect her thoughts together. She frowned, attempting to remember the moment when she had lost control. With her eyes still closed she started her explanation

"I felt angry; your suggestion about hiding my eyes was so simple, I selfishly thought it should have been _my_ idea. You also appear to be wrong about physical changes: now, all my senses have been massively enhanced. Even though I can't feel that you are touching me, I know you are there even with my eyes closed; I can hear you breathing and feel your body-heat even though you are not that close."

She paused for a few moments to assemble her next explanation, but apparently her silence was too long for the Headmaster, as he snapped,

"Continue!"

She hastily did as she was told.

"When I looked at you and your assistant, you were surrounded by some kind of energy, though I don't think you or he was actually aware of it. I also experienced extreme mood changes-"

The Headmaster looked slightly disgusted at this mention of feelings and interrupted her frostily.

"That is irrelevant. When you attacked me I could clearly see that you had no control over what you were doing, it was as if a different creature had replaced you. Was this what you experienced?"

Red Dragon, who was slightly shocked at the Headmaster's interruption, quickly caught up.

"Yes Sir. I was completely aware of what I was doing, but couldn't stop myself. It felt like something else was in control, I also felt many strange urges, so strong that they overwhelmed me, and I _had_ to obey them."

She stopped, opening her eyes, and the Headmaster removed his hand. Turning fully towards her, he studied her shrewdly. Her open eyes were wide with fear as she recalled what she had been relating, her pupils still totally dilated. He scowled, but remembered that feelings and emotions were not her fault; it was the curse of the human race that they automatically expressed and felt them.

Looking at his watch, the Headmaster noted that it would soon be getting dark. Impatiently, he clicked his fingers in front of Red Dragon's face, to snap her out of her terror-induced trance. He was not going to risk slapping her again; doing so may cause her to revert back to her earlier behaviour, and he had no desire to get slashed by the claws he had seen earlier. Red Dragon blinked at the sound of briskly snapping fingers, realising with a jolt that the Headmaster was trying to get her attention. She cursed silently when she realised she had zoned out again and snapped her head up to meet the Headmaster's gaze. Only when she had done so did she grasp that she could move again. When he was sure he had captured her full attention he held out a pair of dark glasses.

"Put these on….they should hide your more noticeable change for the moment. Go home, come to me tomorrow and I will want a full explanation about this 'energy' you saw."

Noting that she hadn't moved, he repeated harshly "Go!" pointing to his office door. Red Dragon flinched and almost ran out of the office.

Catching herself outside, she almost knocked over Rose, who had been standing outside the office door. She waited for the usual sneering remark…but it did not come. Instead, Rose stuck out her hand. Her face was intensely troubled and she seemed to be preparing herself to say something difficult

"Listen, I...I want to apologise for what I did to you…I had no idea that was going to happen. I want to say sorry for everything I've ever said to you."

Red Dragon raised an eyebrow, completely thrown by this U-turn in Rose's behaviour. After a while she thought it might be best to accept her apology. After all, Rose Carter apologising was not something you got to see very often, especially if you were on the receiving end. With a slight smile, she took clasped Rose's hand and said "I accept your apology Rose." Rose hesitantly smiled back and the two shook hands and began to walk down the corridor together.

Outside the office, the white-coat Red Dragon had sensed such evil around abandoned the vacant expression he usually wore and the place he had observed them from and followed them both with a gun in his hand….


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Strolling down the corridor with Rose, Red Dragon could not shake the impression that there was something wrong. She felt strangely tense, and once again her mood changed rapidly, from slight tranquillity to acute unease, again a feeling that was alien and certainly not her own. Fearing she would be taken over like a few minutes before, she slowed her pace, causing Rose to slow down as well. In a voice tinged with nervousness, Rose enquired,

"What's wrong?"

From her tone Red Dragon deduced that there was something bothering her. Gazing shrewdly at her, Red Dragon noticed the aura around rose was tinged with purple, a sure sign of worry. She frowned as she internally questioned how she knew this.

"I could ask you the same question."

Rose looked even more nervous, seeming reluctant to reveal the cause. Red Dragon grew irritated, discerning from Rose's behaviour that it was something to do with her.

"Oh, spill why you don't! Whatever it is has really got you wound up" she growled. Rose's attitude was beginning to grate on her nerves; the last thing she wanted was to lose her temper again and it was difficult to suppress her anger.

"I…I…W-what happened in the Headmaster's office?"

Red Dragon snorted in slight amusement.

"Surely you know…" she drawled, "You must have heard everything that happened; you were so close to the door I nearly fell over you going out".

Rose coloured slightly at this and mumbled in embarrassment "Not enough to understand what was going on".

Red Dragon rolled her eyes in response.

"I'm afraid I don't understand myself what all of it's about, but I should know in a day or two. I'll tell you then."

Rose seemed slightly disappointed but to Red Dragon's surprise did not press her for answers. Instead she looked away and centred her gaze on the door of the back entrance. As they neared the door, the foreign sense of unease grew to almost unbearable levels and Red Dragon was forced to stop abruptly, gasping for breath as her heat speeded up extremely rapidly. Rose stopped as well, her expression displaying a concern that was much unexpected.

A few metres behind them the white-coat scowled. His plan was unravelling already! He had hoped the bestial half of the girl would not have detected him, but it evidently had. He raised his gun, levelling it squarely at the girl's chest. She had to be taken out first, she was the most dangerous, but the other one was relatively harmless. He had no desire to let the creature bond with another, that would ensure its survival and he was there to make sure its life was terminated, even if it meant killing the host as well.

Red Dragon stiffened as control of her body began slipping away. However, this was very different to what she had experienced before. In the Headmaster's office, her body had been taken over in a split second, but now the process was a lot slower. There was a tentative approach, almost as if whatever had possessed her before was now asking permission to use her. In the same instant that she realised this, Red Dragon's sharp eyes picked out the white-coat with the levelled gun (although he was pressed almost out of sight against the wall). Knowing that the only chance of stopping him was to let her other half take over she had just enough time to snarl at rose

"Get Headmaster, reinforcements! Now!"

Then she grimly surrendered control. As the familiar bestial fury and fierceness sprang up from within her she leapt at the white-coat which extended claws, dimly aware of Rose rushing past them and towards the Headmaster's door. The white-coat's finger squeezed the trigger and she moved the trajectory of her leap slightly, twisting her body sideways to avoid the bullet which whined over her right shoulder. With her momentum and speed she believed her other half would be able to prevent the white-coat from shooting again. However, she miscalculated. As she buried her claws into his arm, he fired again and she was now so close she was unable to dodge. As she slammed into him, a sharp and agonising pain erupted in her shoulder which seemed to obscure everything else. Distracted, she almost loosened her hold, but another burst of urgency and the solid mass of the gun pressing against her brought her back to reality. She slashed repeatedly at the man's fingers, causing him to release the gun with a scream. The fiery pain in her shoulder was still there but it was as if it was trickling through a filter, she barely felt it. Abruptly, she rammed her elbow in his stomach, and while he fought for breath and sagged against the wall, she landed on top of him and placed the tips of her claws against his neck, hissing in satisfaction at her capture.

Suddenly, there was a thundering of hurried footsteps and a group of white-coats, along with the Headmaster and Rose, rushed into view. Seeing them as rivals for her newly captured prey she snarled "_Mine! My prey!_" Rose gasped at her changed voice, but the Headmaster snapped,

"Red Dragon, release your prey at once!"

At the sound of his cold voice control of her body was relinquished once more, along with the pain. It was so strong that she was unable hold herself up anymore and she rolled off the white-coat. Landing on the floor she was unable to hold back whimpers at the pain, while the Headmaster flicked a hand to start the rest of his white-coats immobilising the now disabled gunman; before turning his attention to his stricken Prefect. Deftly he uncovered the bullet wound and noted that it was not too deep, the bullet could be extracted relatively easily. Noting that Rose was almost hysterical with anxiety he gestured back to his office and commanded curtly,

"Inform Red Dragon's family that she will be staying here for a while to assist with some important research. She has stayed here at great lengths before so the explanation will be believed".

After Rose had gone, the Headmaster noticed that Red Dragon's whimpers were getting loader. Evidently the pain was getting too much. Knowing that it would be ideal to have her asleep while extracting the bullet he removed his glasses and spoke firmly.

"Look into my eyes…"

The Headmaster was not certain that this would work, but her sleep would easier to control if it did. Red Dragon barely heard the Headmaster's order to Rose; she was too preoccupied with the pain in her chest. However, at his command she looked up. As her fierce eyes met his wide and vibrant green ones he spoke once again:

"Funny that you should be so tired, so early in the evening. You are tired, so tired, you can hardly hold up your head…"

The Headmaster's crooning and soothing voice, as well as his words and eyes began to relax her.

"_So _tired…_so _sleepy…sleep…"

As the last syllable was uttered, a great exhaustion rose up and overwhelmed Red Dragon as her eyes closed and she dropped into deep sleep.

**A/N: I am SO SORRY an update has taken so long! I am afraid exams have rapidly consumed my time. I do hope you can forgive me, my readers. I am proud of this chapter; I think this is one of the longest I've written for this fic. Btw, did you think I got the hypnotism right? I read though all of the books and saw quite a number of TV episodes to get the wording right. What do you think?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

A sensation of comfortable warmth was what first permeated Red Dragon's senses as she began to stir from her hypnotic-induced sleep. With this came the touch of soft sheets and a firm mattress underneath her with her head supported by comfortable pillow. She then became aware that she was lying on her back, with a number of crisp blankets tucked around her lithe form. As she groggily questioned what she was doing in a bed that was not her own, she realised that someone had wrapped bandages around her shoulder. She flinched as she attempted to move and felt a dull ache emanate from that area. Instantly she stilled, and loosed an uncomfortable whine at what she was feeling. Instead of trying to leave the bed, she slowly opened her eyes, realising that the room was in darkness. However, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that her sight was almost as clear as it was in daylight. As she stared at the ceiling, she heard the sound of faint footsteps advancing towards the room she was in. A door that she could only partially see was opened and as he advanced towards the bed, she realised that it was the Headmaster. He frowned as he noticed that her eyes were open and took note of her tensed muscles and slightly clouded eyes.

"I did not expect you to wake so quickly, otherwise I would have ensured you would not have felt the pain you are experiencing now."

He moved away from her and she heard him cross to the other side of the room before he returned to her side.

"Ordinarily, I would have injected morphine into your system in order to dull the pain, but since your skin will snap any needles I use, that is not possible. Luckily I anticipated this and have condensed the drug into a liquid form."

He held a glass out towards her, but she was alarmed to see that her hands shook so much when she attempted to take the glass that it almost slipped from her hands. Luckily, the Headmaster was watching her closely and caught the glass before it fell. Red Dragon saw worriedly that the aura around him was starting to turn red, signalling that he was becoming irritated. "I am sorry, Sir" she mumbled, ashamed at her clumsiness. The Headmaster frowned at her comment.

"Your apology is unnecessary. Since the bullet wound has greatly weakened you it is logical to assume that you have not the normal control over your muscles."

He then held the glass up towards her lips and she began to drink the contents, grimacing at the taste. Once she had finished he moved the glass away, wondering if the drug would work in liquid form.

"Is the pain you are experiencing being diminished or dulled in any way?"

Red Dragon frowned in concentration and raised her shoulder slightly to gauge the level of pain. "The pain is fading Sir" she reported, settling herself fully on her bed. The Headmaster nodded thoughtfully to himself, and then fixed his prefect with a stern gaze. "You are not to leave this room without permission, and you are to stay in bed until I allow you to get out of it. Your wound could become infected if you move about too much. Now, I suggest you sleep. You are clearly still drained of energy."

Since she _was _feeling somewhat drained, Red Dragon decided it was best to obey and obediently closed her eyes. Almost immediately she began to feel incredibly drowsy and fully relaxed. Just was she was drifting off she heard a clipped "Goodnight" from the Headmaster and answered in a voice somewhat slurred with sleep "g'night sir". There was the thud of a door closing close at hand, and she reasoned that the Headmaster had left her room. As she was thinking this she at last succumbed to sleep.

She was abruptly woken when a significant amount of light assaulted her eyes. With her eyes still shut she snarled furiously; she was not a morning person at the best of times and the fact that someone had woken her up only aggravated her further. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and glared furiously at the whitecoat who was standing at the uncovered window. Becoming intensely un-nerved by her glare, the whitecoat decided it was best to deliver his message promptly and began reciting it in the emotionless voice used by all of the Headmaster's white-coats.

"The Director requires the use of your enhanced senses. He has been experimenting with the creeper he developed and has been attempting to accelerate its growth even further. Two of these samples here to all appearance seem dead, but he is uncertain whether they actually are. You are to us-"

The whitecoat was unable to finish reciting commands as Red Dragon had hurled herself at him. Her temper, which was already strained, now snapped and she was unable to control herself any longer. A combination of bestial instinct, simmering irritation and the light stinging her eyes tipped her over the edge. Her blankets had crumpled to the floor in her sudden eruption from the bed and now were scattered around the floor. As she slammed the whitecoat into the wall, the impact caused a chair (which the whitecoat had placed the samples upon) to fall over and the glass bottles which held the samples shattered. Into this scene of devastation strode the Headmaster, who stiffened just inside the door as his gaze took in the mess around him. His jaw tightened in suppressed anger as he saw that his troublesome prefect had disobeyed him by getting out of bed, and was now engaged in the activity of banging the head of one of his white-coats against the wall. His anger manifested itself even further when he saw that his samples were ruined and his hands fisted. Suddenly he began to move towards his Prefect, intent on demonstrating his displeasure...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Red Dragon was jolted abruptly out of her feral rage when a hard and painful smack landed squarely on her rear. She yelped, dropping the whitecoat to the floor and whirling around to see the cause. She paled as she saw the Headmaster standing a few feet away from her; straightening his glasses which had slipped when he leant down to deliver the smack to his prefect. Before his eyes were once more covered, he took the opportunity to direct a scorching glare in her direction that conveyed the extent of his displeasure, causing Red Dragon to flinch at his expression. However, despite this, she somehow managed to gather enough courage to growl sullenly; "What was _that _for?" while rubbing her stinging backside. The Headmaster glared at her for a moment longer and replied,

"I did that for two reasons. Firstly to snap you out of your rage; and secondly because you disobeyed my orders, something I will _not_ tolerate".

The Headmaster snapped his fingers at a couple of white-coats who abruptly appeared behind him, and while they removed their battered comrade he intensely scrutinised the crumpled samples, leaving Red Dragon feeling slightly relieved that he was no longer directing his attention at her. Deeming that they were not completely ruined, he turned and snapped "Get on!" while gesturing towards her bed. She almost fell over in her haste to obey, but was aghast to find that her legs were shaking too much to allow her to climb onto the bed. There was an irritated grunt from the Headmaster, and she gave a squeak of surprise when he scooped her from the floor and set her on the bed in a single precise motion and with a care that was quite unexpected. She was even more astonished when he tucked the fallen blankets around her; this seemed so amazingly out of character for a man who was normally so cold and aloof. Her confusion must have shown on her face, for the Headmaster murmured,

"I have no desire for your condition to become even more aggravated with pneumonia; you have enough recovering to do already, which is wasting a considerable amount of time".

At this cold statement her eyes narrowed and despite the fact that the Headmaster was in a foul mood already, and that to answer back would almost be suicide, she was unable to stop herself from snarling angrily,

"Well it's not like I _asked_ to be shot by a gun-wielding maniac!"

At this, the Headmaster snapped "Silence!" and lent down so abruptly, and with such a threatening expression on his face, that Red Dragon gave a whimper of fear and frantically burrowed back into the mattress in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible. He suddenly gripped her shoulder and hissed menacingly,

"If you _dare _speak in that tone of voice to me again, I will make you regret it!"

She shuddered as he spoke, cursing herself for even uttering a word and wishing she had kept that thought about the gunman to herself. Seemingly satisfied that his threat had terrified her into obedience, the Headmaster released her and retrieved the creeper samples. Holding them out towards her he ordered crisply,

"Examine these; tell me if they are still alive".

Red Dragon closed her eyes and forced her tense form to slowly relax, shutting out everything around her in order to concentrate solely on what her new senses told her. She sniffed the air and detected a faint cloying vapour, that seemed almost weigh down the air around it. Even though the scent was very faint it irritated her nose and made her cough. Pinching her nose with one hand, she opened her eyes and stared hard at the samples, noticing an almost undetectable movement as they sluggishly grew a few millimetres. Still not daring to look at the Headmaster's face, she instead kept her gaze on the creeper and reported in a voice made rough with restrained irritation,

"The creepers are still alive Sir, but only just. I do not think they are likely to survive much longer".

The Headmaster absently handed the samples to a whitecoat hovering close behind him before waving the man away, a calculating expression appearing on his face. He murmured a distracted "Good..." at her assessment before he seemed to suddenly remember that she was there. Once again pinning her with a stern glance, he declared:

"Since it seems you are unable to control yourself, I suggest you work on a way of restraining your bestial impulses as I am sure you are getting as tired as I am over your continual loss of control. Now listen to me carefully as I shall say this only once, _you are not to move from your bed_. If I find you have disobeyed me again, the consequences shall be dire. Is that clear?"

At her frantic nods he turned from her and began to move towards the door. He was nearly outside when he heard a hesitant "...Sir?" from the direction of his prefect. Whirling back into the room he snapped,

"What is it?"

A faint flush of embarrassment crept across Red Dragon's face as she answered sheepishly,

"I need the toilet but I don't think I would be able to make it all the way there"

The Headmaster stared at her in disbelief for a few moments before he beckoned two of his whitecoats over.

"These two will assist you in that regard and shall remain outside your door should you require anything else. Now have you quite finished wasting my time?"

She cringed and answered,

"Y-yes Sir".

Turning away from her again he strode rapidly out of her room and towards his office, angrily calculating how much of his time had been wasted while he had been attending to his prefect.

At the SPLAT shed there was an air of determination as Dinah and Lloyd finished outlining their plans to everybody else. Lloyd raked his gaze across the rest of SPLAT

"Now, does everybody know what they have to do? We can't afford any mistakes; this operation against the Headmaster is going to be much more dangerous than any others we have done. Red Dragon could betray us at any moment so we have to be ready."

After hearing everyone's murmur of agreement he turned to Dinah.

"You are going to have to be doubly careful, you are the one she's in contact with and it's also you that the Headmaster hates the most"

Dinah appeared unfazed by this and answered,

"I know, but that won't stop me fighting him."

Glancing at her watch her eyes widened as she realised how late it was.

"We better get home, it's almost time for dinner and we can't afford to be out in the dark, mum will go spare if we don't get home on time".

Lloyd nodded and set about getting everyone up and out of the shed, having a minor scuffle with Ingrid who was steadfastly refusing to move from the crate she was sitting on. The scuffle ended when Ian joined in and he and Lloyd almost frogmarched her out of the shed while the rest of SPLAT filed out behind them desperately hiding their grins at her typical grumpy behaviour.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Once more lying on her bed, having taken care of her needs with the assistance of the white-coats, Red Dragon glared angrily at the ceiling. She absolutely _detested _being stuck in one place, especially when there was nothing she could really do. She wished desperately that she could explore the lab, as there were many areas she had not seen, and she was certain she would be able to find many things that had been hidden from her, especially with her new senses. However, she was also mindful of the Headmaster's orders and had no wish to try his patience as much as she had done already. Even though he had not gone into specifics when he had mentioned 'consequences', Red Dragon was certain that they would be horrible to experience.

As her anger rose, she remembered the Headmaster's last orders to her, and resolved to think of a way to control her anger, certain that any sensation or expression of rage only made it easier for her to become lost in her inhuman instincts. Closing her eyes, she attempted to block out everything and focus solely on her breathing, hoping that bringing attention away from the cause of her anger would assist in calming her. For a while, it appeared to be working, as the tenseness and irritation she had been experiencing seemed to be fading.

Suddenly, a foreign emotion made itself known, a strong burst of excitement over new surroundings and frustration over having to stay in one place. Red Dragon was certain that these emotions belonged to the non-human part of her and that the creature that had provided that DNA sample was somehow sentient, despite only existing in DNA. Somehow, it was aware that it was bound to something else and seemed determined to communicate with her, its separate emotions appearing to be the only method it could use. She gritted her teeth as a sudden strong burst of energy surged through her. While before she had wanted to get out of bed, now she regretted that notion as it had obviously given the creature _ideas_. She went completely rigid, attempting to lock her muscles and hissing in pain as the movement set her shoulder aching. That hissing abruptly turned to loud, savage snarls as she gave voice to her frustrations over the unnecessary conflict she was now forced to deal with.

She was startled when the door was flung open, and the Headmaster marched into the room, looking supremely irritated. Clearly, her snarls had alerted the white-coats that there was something wrong, and they had decided to inform their Director. It was obvious that he had been interrupted in the middle of something, if the expression on his face was any indication. She suddenly released a sound that was almost a roar, as the energy thrumming through her seemed to increase in intensity. Desperately she attempted to gain control of her voice, intent on giving explanations to the Headmaster before he became angry with her interruption. Convulsing slightly, as the energy raced through her limbs, she finally managed to speak, distressed to find that she hissed and snarled after every word.

"That...creature...is...still...sentient...causing ...outbursts...of...energy...making...me...loose.. .control!"

The Headmaster stared down at her, finding her words unexpected and almost nonsensical. However difficult it was to believe that _any _creature could still be sentient after being reduced to a mere fragment of bone, the evidence demonstrated that it was evidently possible. It was clear that the girl was struggling against something, as she fought to make herself stay on her bed. He was impressed by her almost fierce obedience to his last orders, clearly she was still loyal to him, even if it seemed that she was no longer hypnotised. He was very astonished when she suddenly launched herself from the bed having seemingly lost her battle for control.

Red Dragon inwardly despaired as she lost the willpower to keep fighting against the outburst of energy, suddenly launching herself from her bed with a roar. Her claws once again made an appearance, and she would contemplate later how it was that they did not cause any pain as they rasped from her fingertips. Once again the creature made contact with her, a large amount of excitement, a great desire to see more of this new place with the completely new scents and images. She knew that if she _did _completely give in to the creature's desire, she might end up in a part of the laboratory with very delicate equipment or experiments, and feared that her own anger would cause her to destroy them. With an enormous effort, she wrenched herself away from the direction of the open door and channelled the energy burning through her veins into her strengthening aggression.

The Headmaster was intrigued as he observed the claws once again being revealed, and then became distinctly alarmed as she turned towards the open door to his left. If she escaped into the laboratory, he was horribly aware of the terrible amount of damage she could inflict with those claws on his more delicate experiments, especially with the aggression she was currently demonstrating. He was preparing himself to leap for the door and slam it shut, when she somehow managed to regain a small amount of control. It did not appear to be too significant, as her aggression and anger was as strong as ever, but it was enough. With a wrench that must have been painful, she tore herself away from the doorway and flung herself at the wall, attacking it with all of her strength. Punching, head-butting and clawing the wall, she showed no restraint as the room echoed to her howls of rage. The Headmaster frowned at this ferocious attack. If she rampaged in this fashion for too long, he had no doubt that she would acquire more injuries, as well as damaging her shoulder even further. This would cause him more delays to his plans, as he would have to wait for her to heal. This was dangerous as he knew he must make his move against Dinah Hunter soon; she was doubtless already preparing a plan of her own, even if she _did _believe what Red Dragon had written in her message. Hurriedly he called for more of his white-coats; he knew that two of them would not be enough.

Red Dragon was very taken aback when her efforts to tear the wall to pieces were frustrated. She found herself struggling to move as at least six white-coats held on to her, fighting to restrain her. Snarling, she attempting to lash out at them with her claws, hoping to cause enough pain that they would let her go and she could make them pay for trying to stop her. However, she found herself unable to do this, as she was held too securely, her arms and legs held down by separate people, so that they could neutralise her struggles more easily. Her struggles growing weaker, she demonstrated what she felt in the only way she could, the room echoing once again with howls of anger and frustration. Thankfully, the loss of the unnatural energy seemed to release her from the influence of the creature, as she experienced a burst of disappointment before she regained control of herself. She abruptly sagged in the grip of the white-coats, completely spent; now wanting to regain her bed and never leave it.

She barely heard it when the Headmaster ordered the white-coats to release her, merely curling herself into a ball and closing her eyes, sobbing slightly at the pain that lanced through her shoulder and her throat, now very sore from the intensity of her howls. All she wanted now was something that would keep the pain away for longer and to sleep in her bed again, no matter how much she had hated staying in it earlier.

The Headmaster was very relieved that she had gained control, he would now be able to get on with his experiments, and hopefully he would be able to advance his plans within the next day or two. About to order his white-coats to put her back in bed and preparing himself to leave the room, he frowned as he realised that she was crying. The only time this ever happened was when she was in pain, which seemed to be the case now. He knew that if he did not deal with this pain, not only would it take her longer to heal, there was also a possibility that she could resent his lack of help and turn against him. She was no longer under his direct control, and he was not certain that even the amount of people he had hypnotised throughout the building would be enough to stop her from harming him if she viewed him as an enemy.

Gesturing for his white-coats to leave the room, he knelt next to where she was curled on the carpet, eyes still tightly shut. He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, uncertain whether calling her would be enough. Wearily she opened her eyes, seeming to be surprised that the Headmaster was still there. Appearing to study her, the Headmaster suddenly demanded,

"Where are you in pain?"

Stunned for a few moments at the most unlikely of questions from the man who was kneeling at her side, she finally pulled herself together enough to choke out an answer.

"M-my s-shoulder g-got –j-jolted. A-and m-my t-throat h-hurts"

The headmaster nodded curtly at her answer, before repeating the action he had used earlier, putting her into her bed. This was another thing that surprised her; she had expected that he would order a white-coat to do what he had just done. In the end she reasoned that he knew she lacked the energy to get in bed herself, and it would take too long to track down a white-coat for their assistance. She scowled when she saw the Headmaster approaching with the medication he had given her before, hating its taste. She was almost tempted to knock the glass out of his hand as he brought it close enough for her to drink. The Headmaster must have captured her petulant expression, as he hissed warningly:

"Attempt to destroy your pain medication and I may leave you to endure it without anything to ease what you are experiencing now. I advise you not to test me on this"

Seeing that he meant what he said, Red Dragon reluctantly drank it, glaring angrily at the Headmaster while she was doing so and fantasising what she could do in retaliation. He seemed unfazed by her resentment and merely ordered,

"Stop glaring at me, it serves no purpose at all. I will have one of my staff bring you some water to sooth your throat. After you have finished you will sleep. The more you sleep, the quicker you will heal, and I will then allow you to leave your bed. I will soon be creating a room where you can safely release any more outbursts of energy from the creature"

Having finished relating his latest orders the Headmaster strode from the room. Red Dragon grumpily closed her eyes, half-heartedly hoping that she could find out where the Headmaster was making that medication and destroy all of it as soon as she was healed. She wouldn't do something like that when she still needed it, she wasn't _that _stupid...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Three days after their last SPLAT meeting, Dinah was getting worried. There had been no further message from Red Dragon, and according to the information on her profile, she had not logged onto her profile since the day of her last message. She had not mentioned anything to the others, as she had no evidence, but she was horribly afraid of two things: that something had happened to Red Dragon to prevent her from sending anything further, or that the Headmaster was aware of the contact between herself and Red Dragon. She did not know which was worse. Without regular contact between Red Dragon and herself, it would be a lot harder to counter what the Headmaster had planned. If the Headmaster had discovered their contact, this would also make things harder, yet also more dangerous, as he would attempt to neutralise Dinah and SPLAT before they could do anything to stop him.

She decided to go to the library in the afternoon, as she wanted to check one last time if there was any further message from Red Dragon. She knew that if she tried this at home, one or both of her brothers would discover what she was up to, and she did not want to worry them unnecessarily by checking Myspace where they could see. As she went to the library every day if she could, her brothers and the rest of SPLAT would not be suspicious at her destination. As she sat down at one of the computers in the library she began to feel nervous. If a message was not there, she would have to let SPLAT know about her fears. Yet if it was, they would have to get ready to act quickly on any information that Red Dragon was able to supply them with.

Accessing her account, the tension she felt was relieved somewhat by the sight of a new message from Red Dragon. However, the content of the message had her gaping in utter disbelief at the screen for a few moments, unable to process what she had just read. After a few moments she mastered herself and studied the message again. While there was good news for SPLAT, things had seemingly taken a very strange turn:

"_Dinah, I apologise for the delay in getting back to you, but something has happened which greatly hampered my access to a computer and the physical ability to actually reply. You see, the Headmaster had the Evolution Accelerator installed in his office, and was studying a new DNA sample when he summoned me to his office a few days ago. There was an...accident, and I ended up on the Evolution Accelerator while the DNA sample was being processed and while the machine itself was fully active. _

_To put things bluntly, I am no longer completely human. The Evolution Accelerator decided that my DNA was compatible with the other DNA sample and the two are permanently fused. On the positive side, any plans that the Headmaster created which made use of that DNA sample are now void, as he can't use it anymore, which will make things easier for you. On the negative side, this fusion of DNA has taken a great toll on me and I will be unable to relay any information to you for a while. I am physically not up to it, even writing this message has exhausted me. I hope to be recovered soon, and I will still gather information while I am indisposed. I hope my news has given you some relief._

_All the best to you_

_Red Dragon_"

Coming to a decision, she checked that no-one was close to the library printers and began printing out the message. She knew it would have taken too long to explain to the rest of SPLAT what the message would mean for them, so it was easier to provide them with the evidence and let them see for themselves. Dinah found herself agreeing with the statement that Red Dragon had made about the Headmaster's plans, this would give them valuable time to plan their next move.

Red Dragon slept for almost two days before she felt restored enough to move about and not feel completely drained by the short distance to the bathroom. During that period, both the Headmaster and Red Dragon were gratified to discover that her shoulder was almost completely healed (although this was for completely different reasons). Red Dragon was glad that she would finally be able to enter other areas of the lab and now leave her bed, while the Headmaster was satisfied that he could now begin implementing his revised plans. Now, the involvement of his Prefect was much more prominent, as her new abilities and physical changes were a major asset.

Red Dragon sighed as she closed the laptop, glad to have completed the task that the Headmaster had assigned. Fearing that Dinah Hunter would move against him more quickly if she did not receive a message from Red Dragon, the Headmaster had provided her with the laptop and ordered her to compose a message that would delay any action. It had taken over an hour and all of her writing skills to achieve the right content and tone, but it was finally done. She felt a light sense of irritation begin to manifest itself as she headed towards the Headmaster's office. Knowing how much of a perfectionist he was, she knew he would not allow her to submit the message until he had checked it over himself. She only hoped it would not take long, otherwise it would be difficult to stop her irritation growing and being expressed in a visible way. Even though she was no longer under his control, she still found herself following his rules and preferences. Bizarrely they actually benefitted her, as it made it easier to retain mastery over her more savage side if she was kept busy and restricted to a certain degree.

The Headmaster was just about to enter his office as Red Dragon turned the corner and he paused for a moment as he caught sight of her, beckoning her through the door. She followed him and sat in the chair in front of his desk, obeying his wordless gesture. Catching sight of the Evolution Accelerator for the first time since she had been changed, she was unable to mask the revulsion and fear she experienced as she saw it. She shuddered suddenly and then brutally shoved those feelings away. She knew she had to concentrate on what the Headmaster would order her to do; she could brood on these memories and feelings later when she was in bed and where she would not irritate the Headmaster by doing so. As she settled her gaze on the Headmaster, who was sitting behind his desk, he silently reached out for the laptop. Gratified that he was not intending to chastise her for her demonstration of fear (even though he had obviously noticed it), Red Dragon opened it and brought her message onto the screen before handing it across the desk. The Headmaster settled it firmly in front of him and began to study the message, while Red Dragon struggled not to fidget. Finally, he pushed it slightly to one side so that they could speak without the laptop obscuring their faces.

"I can see nothing that needs to be changed in the message you have created. It achieves the objective I outlined perfectly and will enable me to refine my plans without having to neutralise any interference. You must send it now before Dinah Hunter decides to act on anything she views as suspicious"

Sliding the laptop back towards her, Red Dragon instantly complied with the order that the Headmaster had just issued. Shutting down the laptop and closing it, she attempted to return it to the Headmaster. However, he shook his head and halted its movement, explaining his actions a few moments later.

"Keep it, I will soon have other tasks that require its use and it will be more efficient if you have access to a computer that you can carry with you. Besides, it will also stop you becoming...bored and exploring the laboratory before you have been taught about its more dangerous areas"

Red Dragon hissed quietly in surprise, wondering how on earth the Headmaster knew what her intentions had been. The Headmaster smirked slightly at her reaction, before rising from his desk and preparing to exit his office, gesturing for Red Dragon to follow him. She did so, collecting the laptop on the way out of the office and wondering what task he was planning to assign her next. The Headmaster stopped when he reached a door labelled 'Security', starting an explanation as soon as Red Dragon was close enough to hear him.

"I have bought you here because this room contains floor plans of every area of my new laboratory. It will be easier to explain about the different areas if you have the plans in front of you."

Opening the door, she followed him inside, stopping at the console that he was now operating, having assigned the white-coat working there a different task on the other side of the room. The Headmaster opened his mouth to begin explaining the first floor plan, but he never had the chance to utter a syllable before he was interrupted by a desperate snarl from Red Dragon.

Red Dragon clutched at her head as a powerful surge of horror shot through her like a blade, so strong that it almost completely obscured everything else. She knew the origin of the surge, but for a moment was unable to connect it with any direct cause. This ignorance lasted only moments as the creature projected the answer, a combination of emotions that she felt in only one single place. Swaying slightly, she stumbled towards the door, ignoring the Headmaster's demands to explain what was going on. She was very close to surrendering control completely at this point; as she knew the creature could get her there faster. However, she just had time to snarl out "Home...home...something very bad" before throwing herself through the door and letting the creature take over.

While the creature had control, she was unable to change direction or fight against anything it might do. As a result of this, her laptop was dropped almost immediately (Red Dragon feeling glad that it was securely fastened in its bag), and it shed her shoes and socks only a few moments after the laptop was dropped. Her confusion over this last act was answered when claws revealed themselves from the ends of her toes, as well as the usual place at her fingertips. On four limbs she sprang along the corridor, barely noticing when she knocked over a white-coat on the way out of the main door. If she still had control, she might have hesitated over running this way where people not connected with the Headmaster's laboratory could see her and also see the obviously non-human eyes (she no longer wore dark glasses inside the laboratory as the people working there knew who and what she was). However, as she did not, she had no chance to hide anything. Leaping down the street, she achieved a speed she only normally managed on her bike, and managed to reach her house in only fifteen minutes.

When she reached it, she immediately discovered what the creature had sensed. Her entire house had almost completely been reduced to rubble. From the amount of debris, and the small fires present, there had evidently been an explosion. As she leapt towards the ruins to see if her family had made it out, she soon discovered that she had no need to search. A group of men were standing in the place the driveway of her house had been, and an involuntary cry of horror was ripped from her as she saw her Dad and her Grandmother lying on the ground in front of them. Without going any closer she knew that they were dead. She could quite clearly see bullet holes in the side of their heads and two of the three men held guns that had only just been fired. The third man released a sinister smile in her direction before shoving her sister towards the two men, who held her up between them. While it was clear that her sister was still alive, she did not know how long it would last. She had no idea if she would be able to reach them in time to stop them shooting her. The third man, who appeared to be the leader, smiled even more nastily as he saw her realisation.

"How does it feel monster, to know how much control we have? You have seen how quickly we operate. Now, give up that power you hold, and you might end up with some family left!"

Red Dragon stared at him, having no idea what he was talking about. As she was preparing to tell him so, it seemed that he took her silence for denial and pulled out a gun of his own. It was too much. She couldn't lose her sister too! Snarling, she leaped at the men, and at first she thought her actions would stop them, as they all seemed completely surprised. This hope did not last for long. There was an almost deafining gunshot. Even as she saw the life leave her sister's eyes, she didn't stop her attack. Now she wanted vengeance, their blood would be spilled to pay for the blood of her family that they had caused to fall. For the first time, Red Dragon and the creature had a goal that matched, and this time _she _would be the one in control. As the first man raised his gun, her claws struck, slashing his belly open. She did not attempt to see if he was dead, instead designating the second man as her new prey. While he _did _manage to fire his gun, she dodged it easily, the creature providing her with more dexterity now they were working together. Her claws sank into his neck, and with a single deft twist she cut his throat. The leader was clearly shaken by her swift dispatching of his men, obviously not expecting that she could possess such control. Before she could form a plan to attack him as well, he made his escape. With a snap of his fingers a dark cloud obscured him completely. When it dissipated he was gone.

At this point the creature's consciousness abruptly departed from her senses. She felt completely numb as the knowledge of the situation sank in, as if every emotion had been abruptly cut off. Vaguely she looked around the area, and was startled to encounter some very hostile expressions from the people that we slowly gathering at the ruins of her house. Somewhat belatedly, she noticed her blood-soaked claws and for a moment thought about retracting them. Then she decided against this, it did not matter if she hid them, they had already seen her strike down the two men. To get away from their hostile stares, she suddenly ran to her sister's body, kneeling at her side and studied it, cringing at the look of terror forever frozen on her sister's face. She was surprised to see a photograph close to the body. From the way the glass was cracked, it had clearly been blown from the house when it exploded. She studied it just as intently as she had done with her sister's body, not daring to look up. It showed her entire family; herself included, and had been taken at their annual family holiday only two years ago. Right now, it seemed the most precious object in the world.

Red Dragon was broken from her contemplation at the sound of footsteps crunching across broken glass quite close to her. Abruptly she sprang to her feet, leaping backwards a few feet to face whoever it was. Her fears were banished somewhat at the sight of the Headmaster. She was even _glad _that he was there, for she knew that _he _wouldn't treat her like some kind of beast, even if she had killed those men. The Headmaster had been intensely alarmed as she had sprung from the security room, yet did not attempt to follow her. Her parting words had thrown his thoughts down a different track to chasing down his Prefect, and he had instantly ordered the white-coat at the security camera console to bring up the security feed for Red Dragon's house. As he had done while in control of the BRC, the Headmaster had placed security cameras in strategic places around the town, as it would enable him to spot intruders or dangers to his plans much more easily. He had also placed cameras outside of his Prefect's houses (both Rose and Red Dragon) as he wished to ensure that they followed his orders when they involved their homes. When the camera feed was bought up, it was easy to see what was "very bad" about Red Dragon's home.

As soon as he witnessed the explosion and the men bringing Red Dragon's family out at gunpoint he instantly strode off in the direction of the main doors. He was not in any way concerned about the fate of Red Dragon's family. What he _was_ concerned about was further injuries she might sustain in her attempts to rescue them. He could no longer endure any more delays to his plans. As his driver drew the Headmaster's car up to the smoking ruins of Red Dragon's house, he was pleased to see that she did not appear to have been injured. Instead, she seemed to have despatched two of the group of men he had seen, judging by the blood on her claws and the fact they had clearly been killed by slashing wounds at a single point for both men. As she looked up, he was startled by the expression of relief on her face as she saw who he was. Good. If she was happy to be in his presence, it would make it easier to get her to co-operate with his plans. As he stepped towards her, he caught sight of what she was holding. He frowned.

"Why are you in possession of that photograph? It serves no useful purpose at all; it only shows you and your family, such a picture could not be used for research. It must be destroyed."

He reached for the photograph, intending to match his actions with what he had just said. He could _not _have her distracted by such an item, he needed her full attention. It was at this point that he realised how slim his control of her could be in certain situations. Suddenly she lashed out at him, slashing his arm with the claws of her right hand. He cried out in pain, stopping his movement towards the photograph. Holding it tightly to her chest she shrank back from him and choked out:

"No, no, it's mine! You can't take it, you can't! It's all I have left!"

For the first time in a while the Headmaster was at a loss. He knew that if he made any movement at all towards the photograph, he would only end up with more injuries. Also, while he might be able to hypnotise a number of the bystanders in order to restrain her and stop her attacking him, she would instantly know what he intended to do, as he would have to put them all in a trance first. He doubted he could do this in time, as she would likely attempt to stop him. She had not held back when she slashed him, the wounds that her claws had made were deep; he could see that his sleeve was rapidly becoming stained with blood. The only thing he _could _do was allow her to keep the photograph. It would not provide either Red Dragon or him with anything useful, but it was the only solution that would stop him being slashed again. Sighing he gave her a curt nod and brought his hands away from her, crouching down so that he would not appear as threatening. She eyed him warily, but relaxed slightly.

"Very well, you may keep it, even though I do not understand why you attached emotion to an inanimate object. Now, I will take care of the arrangements for your...family. What is it you wish to do?"

Red Dragon dropped her head at this question, staring at the ground. While she was still stupefied over what had just occurred, she knew that she could not stay here. She was still attached to her home, even though it was now reduced to rubble, but she was mindful of the hostile reaction she was getting from the people around the ruins. The only place of safety she had left was the Headmaster's laboratory. Even though she knew of the restrictions he would place on her, she still welcomed them. She no longer cared what the consequences would be for everyone else if she allowed the Headmaster to make her a part of his plans. She felt betrayed by their reactions towards her and also afraid. Suddenly she felt utterly drained.

The Headmaster was taken aback when Red Dragon suddenly slumped forward, her head resting against his chest, nearly knocking him off balance, as he was still crouched. He scowled, but allowed the contact. If he tried to push her away her feared that her reaction would be violent. In a voice that was barely audible she answered the question he had just asked.

"Please...take me back"

Sighing he stiffly placed an arm around her shoulders, not wishing for her to move any further and place him further off balance.

"Very well. Come."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Dinah was on the way to deliver a letter for mum as she walked down a street of moderate, detached houses. When she reflected on the following events later on, she was thankful that the houses _were _detached; as if they had been connected there could have been more casualties. As she turned out of the gate where she had delivered the letter, she was nearly knocked off her feet by an almost deafening blast at the end of the road. Regaining her balance, she immediately ran towards the source of the blast. As she reached the last house on the street, cautiously peering over the top of a wall, she saw where the blast had come from. An explosion had completely ripped it apart; there was nothing recognisable as a house at all, merely piles of rubble. She was snapped out her examination of the house by the horrifying sound of two gunshots.

Spinning around, she instantly saw the results of the gunshots. Two people were lying on the ground, obviously dead. A cry of horror changed her focus once again, as _something _sped up the road to the house. When it stopped, she was able to make out the creature more clearly. Most of it looked like a human girl, but there were various features that showed it was clearly not human. To begin with, it had claws on its hands and bare feet, and it had been running on all four limbs as it sped down the road. The feature which marked it the most clearly as non-human were its eyes. The only creature Dinah could compare the eyes to was a cat, yet these eyes were far too wild to be attributed to such a domesticated creature. The man who had not yet fired anything shouted something to the creature, and gestured towards a girl being restrained by the two men who had gunned down the people on the ground. Clearly the girl was important to the creature, as she started to desperately run towards the men. Dinah's eyes widened in horror as she realised that the desperate attempt to save the girl would be too late, the creature had left it too late before she started running.

Once more, a gunshot echoed around the ruins of the house. However, the creature did not stop. Rather, her eyes narrowed in rage, and Dinah suddenly knew that the people who had been murdered must be the creature's family. Nothing else could produce such a reaction and this much utter fury. She closed her eyes as the creature leapt at the men, knowing what she was about to do, and deep down, agreeing with her actions. There was one last gunshot, then nothing. Carefully, she opened her eyes, wincing at the sight that greeted her. The creature had struck down both the men in revenge for what they had done, and was clearly preparing herself to go after the third. However, before she had a chance to do anything, a dark cloud suddenly obscured him, and he had gone when the cloud disappeared.

By now, other people had come to see what was going on, and Dinah was alarmed and angry to see the hostile glares delivered towards the creature from those who had seen what she had done to the men. It was a terrible attitude to express, especially towards someone who had lost everything in a few short moments. Despite her fearsome appearance, Dinah doubted the creature would cause harm to anyone, unless severely provoked.

The creature had clearly become aware of the hostile attitude, and kept her head down, obviously too afraid to meet the faces of anyone else. Desperately she studied a photograph she had picked up, with had landed almost intact after the explosion. Dinah was startled by the sound of a car approaching, which stopped close to the ruins. When she saw who was getting out she gasped, and retreated slightly so she could not be seen as easily. The Headmaster had got out of the car, and was now approaching the creature. Even though he did not speak her name, Dinah now knew who she was. The realisation struck her like a physical punch. She was looking at Red Dragon, and she had not been exaggerating in her message when she said that she had been permanently changed.

Dinah winced as the Headmaster reached for the photograph. Judging by how tightly Red Dragon was holding it, she obviously was greatly attached to the photo, and if the Headmaster continued to reach for the photograph, the situation would not end well. She was soon proved correct, as Red Dragon slashed his arm, holding the photo protectively against her, hissing something to the Headmaster. Dinah was too far away to hear what she said, but it was clear that her words made the Headmaster pause. After a few moments he moved his hands away from her and crouched down, clearly deciding that it would be too dangerous to go after the photograph again, and that he must make himself look as non-threatening as possible. It seemed to be working, as Red Dragon seemed to relax slightly. He asked her something, and she abruptly dropped her head, slumping forwards, with her head resting against the Headmaster. Dinah was very surprised when the Headmaster did not attempt to push her away. Instead, he actually kept her close, resting an arm across her shoulders. Dinah at last reasoned that any attempt to push her away would end up with Red Dragon attacking him again, something he was clearly keen to avoid.

At last, he stood up, bringing Red Dragon up with him. It was unclear if she had been injured, or was merely exhausted by what she had gone through, but as Red Dragon and the Headmaster began to walk back to his car, she leaned heavily on him. Once again, the Headmaster allowed her to remain close. As the Headmaster opened the back door of his car, he leaned into it to give instructions to his driver. As he did so, Dinah gave a sigh of relief, glad that he was leaving. Instantly it was obvious that Red Dragon had heard her, as her head snapped up from where it had been resting against the Headmaster's shoulder, and for the first time, their eyes met. Dinah was utterly paralysed by the complete desolation that was reflected there, and Red Dragon gave her the faintest of nods. Their shared gaze was broken as the Headmaster helped her into the back of the car, following her a moment later and shutting the door. As the car moved off, Dinah's mind began humming with everything she had just experienced, and she started to run back home. SPLAT had to be notified about what she had just seen.

Red Dragon had been utterly silent on the way back to the laboratory, making no attempt to explain what had happened. In fact the Headmaster had not demanded such a thing from her, fearing that any attempt to make her say anything would once again cause a violent reaction. He reasoned that she would explain when she was ready, and he would not risk his person in order to receive the explanation any earlier. As they reached the laboratory, the Headmaster helped her from the car, just as he had helped her get into it back at her house. Somehow, the events of the last hour had created a paralysing effect on her movements. Also, she seemed barely aware of anything that was happening around her, she merely stared blankly. Guiding her into the building, he moved to the first white-coats he came across. Hoisting her off her feet, he handed her to one of the white-coats and proceeded to give them the orders they were waiting for.

"Examine her for any injuries. If she has none, put her to bed and remain on guard. If she has any at all, deal with them and keep her in the medical room. Whatever you do with her, stay with her at all times. She is not to be left alone"

Once the white-coats had received their orders, they moved off down the corridor carrying Red Dragon with them. The Headmaster himself was headed for the medical room, as he had to deal with the wounds made by Red dragon's claws. He hoped these wounds would not affect the movement of his arm, as this could cause delays he would not endure.

Since the white-coats had not found any injuries, they had followed the Headmaster's orders and Red Dragon was now back in her bed. She was still attempting to adjust herself to a life _without _her family. She had not gone back to her family at any time after the accident, so she had no idea what their reactions would have been once they learned the full extent of how much she had changed. She hoped that they would have still accepted her, yet after the hostile reception she had just encountered, she doubted if they would have done so. Even though she felt utterly drained, she feared the nightmares that would grip her when she slept. This made her determined to stay awake, and she manoeuvred her pillow so that she could sit up comfortably, knowing that lying down would make it easier for her to fall asleep. The white-coat standing next to her gave her a disapproving look, but said nothing.

This was how the Headmaster found her when he had finished attending to his arm. He frowned and gestured for the white-coat to leave her room. When the man had gone, the Headmaster brought a chair close to her bed and fixed her with a serious look as he sat down.

"I will address your attempts to avoid the sleep you clearly need in a moment. However, first I believe we should discuss the terms of a trade that would benefit both of us. As you have doubtless worked out by now, my plans will be greatly strengthened if you co-operate with me and assist me by using your new abilities when they are needed. I am aware that my laboratory is the only place that you have designated as 'safe', from both the organisation that were responsible for today's events, and those who would seek to harm you because of your non-human DNA."

Here the Headmaster paused, to make sure that he had captured her full attention. He had no wish to explain things to her more than once. Once he had ensured that she was focussed entirely on what he was saying, the Headmaster continued.

"If you co-operate with me and follow my orders, I will provide you with what you need, and this room will be yours permanently. I will also assist you in managing the 'outbursts' of aggression you exhibit when you lose control, as well as research to determine what this creature actually is. However, there are rules you will be required to follow"

At this last pronouncement, Red Dragon hissed, wary of what rules the Headmaster would require her to follow, as well as becoming anxious about what the consequences might be should she break his rules. The Headmaster paid her reaction no heed, merely waiting until she was calm enough to listen to him.

"You are to follow my orders, and you are to inform me _immediately_ if you are close to experiencing an 'outburst' so that you will not be able to injure yourself or cause any damage. Break these rules and you will be confined to your room for a period and you will not be allowed to leave it unless I allow you to do so. The last rules, and the most important, are as follows: You are not to interfere in any way with my plans, you are not to go into areas where you are forbidden and you are not to deliberately place yourself in harms way. If you break _any _of the last three rules that I have mentioned, the consequences will be more severe, as you will be spanked. Do you understand this, and do you agree to the terms I have mentioned?"

Red Dragon released a muffled squeak, eyes wide, as the Headmaster finished outlining the rules and consequences. While she had no problems in following those rules, she was unsure which punishment would be worse when she had to face them. Although it was not her intention to break those rules, her new DNA had altered her personality, creating an impulsive streak. This meant that she no longer gave much thought to her actions, as she had already demonstrated today, she was well aware that she should have gone to her house with reinforcements. The first punishment she considered to be the most torturous, as she _hated _being confined to one place. This, she reflected, must have been why the Headmaster chose that particular punishment, he was well aware how much she longed to explore. The second punishment was something she was keen to never experience from him. She knew that he would not be moved by any pleas for mercy during the spanking, a technique that had sometimes worked on her Dad. She knew that he would not stop the punishment until he himself judged that it was enough, and she was certain that it would very painful, as she doubted that he would hold back.

As she reflected on what he had offered, and what he required from her, Red Dragon believed that the trade was fair, and she would still accept the terms he had outlined, even though she was wary of the consequences he had summarized. The Headmaster had not arranged his trade so that only _he _would benefit from it, but he had also provided her with incentives. She concluded that he did not want to risk her becoming violent by being overly restrictive and not offering her any assistance. Finally, she nodded decisively to herself and answered the Headmaster's question.

"I understand what you have just outlined, and I agree to the terms"

While she had become slightly animated while the Headmaster outlined the terms, her voice when she answered was still slightly vague, and she now appeared to be lapsing back into her stupefied state. Before she could do so completely, the Headmaster immediately addressed her refusal to sleep.

"While I do not understand why you refuse to sleep, even though you need it, I have a way that will make you sleep immediately. This method has worked before, so I know it will be effective"

While the Headmaster had been saying this he had removed his dark glasses. Red Dragon knew what he intended to do, but had no intention of fighting it. When he had placed her into a hypnotic sleep last time, she had not experienced any dreams at all and hoped that this pattern would continue. As the Headmaster's crooning voice washed over her, and the familiar drowsiness began to manifest itself, she hoped to have revenge on the man who had escaped her, as well as his organisation. Only then could she obtain real closure from today's horrific events.


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors Note:** As you can see I have completely rewritten the previous chapters, and posted some new ones too. Please let me know if you think I am keeping people in character, as I am worried I may be a bit off with some of them.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

As Dinah walked up to the SPLAT shed, she was more nervous this afternoon than she had ever been about a SPLAT meeting. As well as updating them about the information Red Dragon had given to her, she had to tell them about how much she had changed. The last part was something she was decidedly _not _looking forward to, as she would have to reveal what had happened earlier, and what Red Dragon had done. Sighing, she knocked on the door.

"The man who can keep order can rule the world!"

That was Lloyd who had just given the passphrase, and by the tone of his voice he was in a bad mood. Dinah winced. She had a feeling that this SPLAT meeting was going to produce some arguments, and if Lloyd was in a bad mood to start with, it would make things much worse. Unhappily, she replied with the answer to the passphrase.

"But the man who can bear disorder is truly free"

The door was abruptly wrenched open and Dinah quickly darted through, sitting next to Harvey in an attempt to keep out of Lloyd's way. Lloyd scowled at Dinah as he shut the door of the shed, before sitting back on his box with a huff. Dinah did not give him the satisfaction of showing how much his bad mood was annoying her, and merely raised an eyebrow, inviting him to open the SPLAT meeting. Reluctantly, Lloyd accepted her unspoken invitation, and sat up straight on his box, attempting to look businesslike. Ingrid giggled as he puffed himself up, while Mandy was half-heartedly attempting to quiet her, while simultaneously attempting not to laugh as well. Lloyd rapped smartly on the floor and said sharply,

"I call this SPLAT meeting to order!"

Ingrid and Mandy attempted to look serious as SPLAT focussed on their Chairman. The effect was rather ruined by the fact that Mandy was frantically biting her lip in an effort _not _to laugh, while Ingrid was still shaking with silent giggles. Lloyd resolutely ignored them and began the meeting.

"Dinah says that she's had contact with Red Dragon again, and that she is also involved in that explosion that happened earlier. I think we should hear what she has to say before we make any decisions or change anything. Any objections?"

As SPLAT shook their heads, Lloyd gestured for Dinah to start her account. Dinah did not start speaking right away. Instead she took out six printouts from her bag and passed them round, keeping the last for herself. Finally she began her explanation.

"The papers I just handed you show the message that Red Dragon sent me just today. I didn't want to just quote it, because what she says is so strange, I wasn't sure if you would believe me if you didn't have the evidence in front of you. So read the message, then tell me if you have any questions. Once I answer them I'll tell you more".

They nodded, then fell to reading the message she handed them. It was easy to tell when they reached Red Dragon's most bizarre claim, as they all stared in complete disbelief at the paper in front of them. Ian was the first person to break their silent disbelief.

"How do we know that what she claims is true?"

Dinah, who was grateful she was dealing with the more level-headed Ian, instead of Lloyd or Ingrid, answered somewhat excitedly.

"Because I saw her myself!"

At her outburst, everyone eagerly waited to hear her explanation, although she could see that they were still somewhat sceptical (especially Lloyd).

"She was running on all fours when I first saw her, and she had claws on her fingers and toes. Her eyes were also completely inhuman, slitted like a cat."

Everyone blinked at this. Dinah waited to see if SPLAT had any more questions about the message, but they seemed to have forgotten about it, as they wanted to hear more about what Dinah had seen. This was confirmed by Ingrid, who burst out with an impatient "Tell us what happened then!"

This was the part that Dinah had been dreading, as up to this point SPLAT were guarded about Red Dragon, yet she feared what their reactions would be when she revealed what had happened that afternoon. Reluctantly, she began to narrate what had happened. For the most part, they seemed to take it in their stride when they heard what had happened to Red Dragon's family. All of them, even Lloyd, were horrified when they heard how Red Dragon had been too late to save her sister. Very reluctantly Dinah told them what Red Dragon had done next.

There was complete silence when she had finished as they were all stunned by such a brutal event. Dinah studied them carefully as they collected themselves. As she had expected, Lloyd and Ingrid were looking worried and slightly disgusted, while Ian seemed to be thinking things over and Mandy appeared sad and sympathetic. Dinah was starting to get irritated, as she wanted any arguments out the way so that they could plan what to do next.

Eventually, Lloyd broke the silence, as he addressed his next remark to Dinah, in a sickened tone of voice. "I knew it wasn't a good idea to try and get information from one of the Headmaster's cronies. We can't keep using a killer; she could end up killing _us_!" Ingrid added to this firm remark with her own shrill contribution:

"I don't want to go anywhere near her!"

Dinah sighed, while Mandy added a soft, decisive comment to what had already been said, looking very unhappy at the harsh statements which had just unleashed by Lloyd and Ingrid. "I think that's really unfair! The poor thing has just been changed into a half animal and then witnesses her family getting murdered!"

Just as Lloyd was about the reply with something very rude, the irritation that Dinah had experienced from the beginning of this meeting abruptly bubbled over and she crossly thumped Lloyd in the arm. This action halted what he had been planning to say as he and the rest of SPLAT stared at Dinah, very surprised by the way she had reacted. Dinah was normally so calm and collected, and for her to actually thump Lloyd demonstrated that things had gone too far, something that even Lloyd himself recognised. Waiting for SPLAT to focus on Dinah properly, he motioned for her to speak.

"I know you all have opinions about Red Dragon, but the brutal fact is that she is the best asset that we have. Without Red Dragon's information, we will have no idea what the Headmaster plans to do, and therefore we will not be able to counter it. We've been lucky before, as we've always managed to find out what he's up to, as there are clues. It won't be so easy now, as he knows we will try to stop him, so he will be a lot more careful. Lloyd, what do you think we should do?"

Lloyd looked very solemn as she finished outlining where things stood. No matter how much he may consider Red Dragon to be nothing more than a savage animal, he could not argue with what Dinah had said, as it was perfectly true. They _needed _the information from Red Dragon if they were going to stop the Headmaster. Catching everyone's eyes, he said strikingly:

"We must all take a SPLAT vote now. Who believes we should still make use of Red Dragon, even after everything we've heard?"

Reluctantly putting his own hand up, he looked around the shed to see what everyone believed. Dinah had put her hand up at once, with Ian following a few moments later along with Mandy. Harvey put his hand up afterwards, while Ingrid was the only member of SPLAT who voted against the idea, as she stayed slumped on her box, looking sulky. Lloyd counted the votes and declared,

"As there are 5 votes to 1 in favour of using Red Dragon's information, we will continue to do so. I think we should go back to my house and have a proper look at the news; I want to see if we can spot anything else the Headmaster did when he was at the source of the explosion."

SPLAT seemed in agreement about _this _activity at least, as even Ingrid nodded, and they all stood up as Lloyd officially dissolved the meeting. As Dinah followed Harvey out of the shed, she felt very relieved that they had agreed on some form of action. She would have to send another message to Red Dragon soon, to see if there had been any new developments.

* * *

As Red Dragon had been hoping, the sleep the Headmaster had placed her under did not produce the nightmares that she was dreading, and she was able to feel sufficiently well-rested when she woke from it. As she sat up, she spotted a note on her dressing table. The message was written in the Headmaster's familiar precise script and gave her detailed instructions:

'Red Dragon,

After yesterday's events, I have increased the security for the laboratory as much as I can so that no one can cause you harm while you are within this building. You are to come to the Security room as soon as you are ready, so that I can continue showing you the layout of the laboratory. It is now even more essential that you learn the areas of the laboratory you are permitted to enter, as you are now here permanently, and I also do not wish you to be near certain areas when you lose control. This way, you should have time to move away from those areas, and nothing vital will be damaged. I refuse to have days of work ruined by your carelessness when you have an 'outburst'.

When this has been achieved, we will begin research into the creature. The DNA sample was recovered from a specific area, and I will be sending out some of my staff to determine if any more can be located. As this will take time, we will also be working together in order to determine any weaknesses that you possess. It is best we discover them now instead of discovering them after they have caused you to be harmed. Before you go to the Security room, you are to create a list of any weaknesses that you yourself have observed. Fail to complete the list and the research will be conducted in your room, as I will lock you in. Your well being is of the utmost importance to my plans.

Be as prompt as you are able'

Red Dragon felt some of the uncertainty she was experiencing drain away as she processed the content of the note. She was glad that she would be kept busy, as the last thing she wanted to do was have time to herself in which to brood over what had happened yesterday. Swiftly getting herself ready, she found that the Headmaster had stocked her desk with studying materials, and brought out what she needed to make the list. She scowled as she sat down in the desk chair, glaring at the paper in front of her. She disliked thinking that she had any weaknesses at all, but she knew some existed. She did not want to list them on the paper, as that would make them a lot more real. On the other hand, she did not want to be locked in her room, as she had been there for too long without being able to explore.

Reluctantly, she began listing as many weaknesses as she could recall, growing more and more irritated the longer the list became. It shamed her to think that there were so many things that the organisation could use against her if they discovered these weaknesses. Snarling softly as she wrote the last item, she shoved her pens and paper back into the drawer, slamming it shut when she had finished. Seizing the list, she headed for the Security room, almost stamping as her frustration leaked out through her movements. Before entering the room, she fought to mask as many traces of her anger as she could, as the Headmaster would not appreciate having to wait for her to calm down before he could assess her list. Finally achieving this, she slowly entered, seeing the Headmaster studying a bank of screens on the far side of the room.

He turned as he heard the door opening, motioning for her to come over to him. She did so, offering him her list. Red Dragon cringed slightly as he read it, knowing that the list was not presented in the way it should have been, as she had taken her anger out on it while she was listing her weaknesses. Scowling at her as he finished, the Headmaster did not ask her directly why the list was in this state, he merely raised an eyebrow. She shuffled from foot to foot as the pettiness of what she had done confronted her, before reluctantly answering the Headmaster's silent inquiry.

"I was...frustrated. I know it is important to know my weaknesses, but there are more than I expected. If I have to actually acknowledge them, it only causes me to focus on how much of a liability I am"

The Headmaster frowned as he considered her answer. Although there was no excuse for such a disorderly list, she had raised a valid point. When the amount of weaknesses was studied, it did indeed seem as if she was more of a hindrance to his plans. However, he also believed that some of these weaknesses could be overcome. The more of these that could be conquered, the harder it would be for the organisation to cause her damage. Lowering the list, he considered what to do with this information. Coming to a decision, he decided it was best to share it with Red Dragon before the issue of her weaknesses caused her anger to become too strong.

"You have provided me with a thorough list, even if the presentation leaves a lot to be desired-" Here Red Dragon squirmed guiltily, "-but we will pass over that. It is essential that we devise a way of neutralising as many weaknesses as possible. Before you go to bed, you are to compose some solutions to how some of these weaknesses can be overcome. Clearly it is impossible to counteract all of them, but this way it will be harder for you to be hurt by the organisation who so oppose you."

The Headmaster was surprised when she did not attempt to protest another exercise on her weaknesses, something she would normally do in some way, even if she did not say so outright. It appeared that the shock of the hostile reaction she had faced was still affecting her, causing her to be more subdued than normal. While he was gratified that she was easier to deal with this way, it also disturbed him. If this influence increased too much, she would not be able to participate in his plans at all, and they would now only work perfectly with her input.

Shaking his head, he motioned her over to a table where he had once more placed the floor plans of the laboratory. Red Dragon walked closer, casting a curious eye over them and attempting to conceal the echoes of the horror she had felt last time she was in view of these floor plans. Spreading out the first one, he began to explain the layout of his laboratory.

"My laboratory contains three floors. The first floor contains reception, the administration offices, finance offices and the human resources office. You are permitted in these areas, although at present you have no real need to enter them."

He pulled out the floor plan for the second floor and again proceeded to provide her with a detailed explanation of what it contained and where she was allowed to go.

"The second floor contains the living quarters (where your room is located), the kitchen and the canteen, the laboratory and my office. You are permitted to enter all of these areas, but you are to knock before entering my office. The last area on this floor is the specimen section, and you are _not _to enter this area, as the specimens I use for my experiments are dangerous. If you enter this area without supervision you could be badly hurt. You also know the other consequences that will occur if you enter this area without my permission."

At this point, the Headmaster pierced his Prefect with a warning glare, causing her to feel uncomfortable. She was well aware of what he would do if she entered that particular section, and had no desire to provide a situation where he would do so. Feeling that he had got the message across, the Headmaster turned back to the floor plans, revealing the third and final floor. Red Dragon shook off her apprehension about the specimen section and listened intently to the final explanation.

"The third and final floor contains the Security room and storage areas. The Security room you are only to enter with my permission, the store rooms you can enter when you wish, but do your best not to disarrange the contents. If you do, _you _will be the one setting right what you put out of place. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir"

The Headmaster nodded decisively, then turned to take some sheets of paper that a whitecoat had just entered the room with. Scanning through them carefully, he allowed a smile of approval to flash across his face. As the information was of relevance to Red Dragon, he decided it was best to update her on this issue.

"You clearly thoroughly read the note that I left for you while you slept. I mentioned that we would research the creature once my staff had obtained more DNA. They have managed to do so, but there is not time to study what they found at length today. Therefore we will conduct this research tomorrow, and this way we will have the time to study things much more extensively. Go and have lunch, then for the rest of today you may explore the first floor. If you enter any of the offices, do not disturb those who are working there, otherwise you will end up locked in your room. Remember to complete the exercise on your weaknesses and bring it to my office before you retire for the night. Are you agreeable to what I have outlined?"

Red Dragon scowled at the reminder about her weaknesses exercise, but grew rather excited at the chance to _finally _explore. This excitement was echoed wholeheartedly by the creature, which had exactly the same desire. As this excitement flared through her system, she had to remind herself to be as calm as possible in the offices; otherwise her explorations would be abruptly cut off. Almost vibrating with the excitement thrumming through her person, she squeaked: "I understand, Sir! May I go now?!"

The Headmaster snorted at her obvious enthusiasm but waved a hand towards the door in dismissal. Hissing out a hasty thanks over her shoulder, Red Dragon shot out of the room, leaving the Headmaster wearily wondering if he would end up confining his currently hyper charge to her room. He might end up doing so, judging by the amount of excitement she was exhibiting. Resignedly he prepared to deliver new orders to his office staff in case this situation occurred.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **This chapter contains spanking, so if you don't like it, don't read the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Despite the Headmaster's misgivings, Red Dragon had somehow managed to control herself while she was in the offices, merely sprinting round the perimeter of each office to see what it was like, before running back into the corridor. The only mishap that had occurred was in reception, where she had not checked her speed quickly enough and had toppled over some chairs in an effort to avoid crashing into the main doors. Startled at the noise, and rather ashamed of the mess she had made, she had attempted to flee to her room. This was thwarted relatively neatly by the Headmaster, who had been on his way to give some instructions to the receptionist.

Easily catching hold of his Prefect as she attempted to dart through the door, he had ordered her to right the chairs she had toppled and made sure of her obedience to his order by promising to follow through on his threat of locking her in her room. Having no wish to have her exploration cut short so soon, she obeyed as quickly as possible. Luckily, the Headmaster seemed satisfied with her actions and allowed her to finish her exploration. By this point she seemed to have burned off much of the energy that she had exhibited back in the Security room, and she appeared much calmer when she arrived at his office with her second exercise on her weaknesses.

This exercise, along with her original list, caused the Headmaster to realise that there were discrepancies in the way he ensured the continued well-being of Red Dragon. However, now that these had been discovered, they could be dealt with. The most severe weakness was her great susceptibility to cold temperatures. When the whitecoats had examined Red Dragon for injuries, they had also measured her core temperature. While the average core temperature for humans was usually around 37 degrees Celsius, Red Dragon's core temperate was much hotter, around 55 degrees Celsius.

In order to remain in peak condition, this temperature had to be maintained as much as possible. To achieve this, the Headmaster created a list of items that would be essential. Thicker clothing and nightwear needed to be ordered, along with warmer bedding. To supplement this, extra blankets would be placed in her room in case she was in need of something to warm her quickly. Finally, the Headmaster instructed the caretaker to increase the temperature throughout the building.

Another issue were her enhanced senses, as it could cause her pain if she was bombarded by too much sensory data. Luckily, there was hardly any noise generated around the laboratory, and the Headmaster would be providing Red Dragon with a remote control that was used to increase or decrease the intensity of the lights in her room as well as instructing her to wear her dark glasses in some of the brighter areas. The only odours which could potentially cause her harm were in the specimen section, where she was not permitted. Touch would be very difficult to overload, and it would not be possible for this to occur to her sense of taste. The meals that Red Dragon was served with were selected only for their nutritional value which made them fairly bland.

This was not the only matter concerning Red Dragon which occupied more of his time than he would have liked. She was once again refusing to sleep, and her reluctance to explain the reason caused the Headmaster to conclude that her refusal was related to feelings. The only way he could put her to sleep at the present time was by hypnosis, but he was reluctant to do this every night. To begin with, it took valuable time to make her sleep, which could be used for more useful endeavours. It also was a constant reminder that he was unable to control her through this method any longer, which irritated him. He would have to create a sedative that would be compatible with her new DNA, as this would be the only way he could ensure that she was able to have a restful sleep every night. She would be no good to his plans if she was crippled with fatigue.

He was also tired of having to bring in whitecoats to restrain her when she had an outburst of aggression or excessive energy. The only solution he had been able to create was a room with padded walls and training equipment. If she released the outbursts in this training room she would not injure herself and it would be easier to contain her.

* * *

The next morning a whitecoat had escorted Red Dragon to the main laboratory, where more parts of the creature had been placed. The Headmaster was standing at a table, which had a cloth draped over a number of objects. He silently gestured for her to stand on the other side of the table, before drawing the cloth back from the nearest object. When she saw what it was, she jerked with surprise. The object on the table was very familiar to her. She raised a hand slightly, and blinked as the Headmaster confirmed what she had just realised.

"You see what I saw; your claws are identical to the claws from the creature, although they are much larger than yours. Protract your claws, and then you can examine them together"

Red Dragon did so, learning forward to place the claw from her second finger next to the claw on the table. Apart from the difference in size, they were exactly the same. She twitched slightly as the creature released a burst of smugness that essentially amounted to 'mine is _better_ than yours'. Clenching a fist behind her back, she reached for the cloth to uncover the rest of the objects, glancing up at the Headmaster for permission. He nodded slightly, and she pulled the cloth away. The objects proved themselves to be charred fragments of scaly skin, too blackened for the original colour to be discovered. As she caught sight of what they were, Red Dragon's hand flew to her cheek. She often attempted to avoid touching her own skin as much as possible because of what she felt, cold smooth scales, instead of the ordinary flesh that her skin appeared to be.

The Headmaster had been watching her closely as she studied the objects, and saw the sudden movement that she made. He was becoming very impressed with her reasoning; she had clearly been studying her new physical features on her own. He believed it was time to test this reasoning, and waved a hand towards the claw and scales on the table.

"Based on what we have collected from the creature and your own deductions, what can you determine about it?"

Red Dragon blinked at this question, lowering her arm from her face. She pondered what she had observed for a few moments, ignoring the growing smugness and superiority produced by the creature. Finally she shared what she had deduced with the Headmaster.

"The scales strongly suggest that the creature is reptilian, as do the claws, as this is a common feature amongst that type of animal. The claws themselves reveal the role of the creature, as they are extremely sharp, and as you have seen, appear on all four limbs. This shows that the creature is a predator. The aggressive behaviour that I manifest at times is an echo of its own behaviour, and also demonstrates this role. The staggering amount of protection provided by the scales seems to indicate that either the prey it hunts fights the creature, or it is attacked by other predators and possibly by members of its own species."

The deduction she did _not _reveal to the Headmaster was that the creature was a lot more cunning and intelligent than a mere animal, even if it _was_ a predator. Although he might be interested in the creature's intellect, she would have to mention the method it used to communicate with her and demonstrate this, which the Headmaster would greatly disapprove of. He was always irritated when feelings were brought up, and a suggestion that feelings could be important and useful would not sit well with him at all.

The Headmaster smiled in approval as she finished her deductions. He had been right, when it came to studying the creature her reasoning was incredible, likely because she had experienced some of its physical features and its behaviours. Covering the objects with the cloth again, he beckoned her over to a computer terminal.

"Your deductions are logical and appear to be sound, I am very impressed. This terminal displays the structure of the DNA taken from the sample that was combined with you. I wish you to take samples of the objects you have just studied and then we will go to my office and use the Evolution Accelerator to study them".

While Red Dragon was interested in finding out as much as she could about the creature, she was very reluctant to go near the Evolution Accelerator again. Her unease must have shown in some way, as the Headmaster suddenly gave her information that reduced her fears somewhat.

"I have placed railings around the Evolution Accelerator, so there is no possibility that it could cause a danger to you any longer. You are obviously greatly aware of the damage it can cause, so you will not voluntarily touch it, and the railings will ensure that the accident which changed you cannot happen again"

Comforted by this knowledge, and strengthened by a surge of encouragement and concern from the creature, she picked up the tools neatly laid out in front of the objects and starting taking a sample from the claw, no longer fearful about going near the Evolution Accelerator.

* * *

Even though SPLAT had scoured the newspapers and avidly watched the news on TV, they had not managed to learn much from these sources about anything else the Headmaster had done. To begin with, although the explosion had been captured on TV, there appeared to be something wrong with the cameras after this had occurred, and nothing else could be gained from the TV news. The accounts from the newspaper, although they did not provide any new information, confirmed at least that the Headmaster had meddled in some way after he had been driven off. When the eyewitnesses had been interviewed, their answers indicated that they had been hypnotised, and forced to claim that they did not remember much of the incident. Clearly, the Headmaster was attempting to cover what Red Dragon had done.

This produced quite a mixed reaction within SPLAT. While all of them were always worried when the Headmaster actively did anything, they all felt differently about his apparent reason for doing so. Mandy, and especially Dinah, were glad that accounts of Red Dragon killing the men would take longer to reach anyone else, clearly the Headmaster was attempting to protect his seemingly loyal subordinate. They felt that she had enough to deal with right now, without the hostile reaction she had encountered spreading any further. Ian did not seem to worry about the Headmaster's reasoning, only felt concerned that he was apparently active. Lloyd and Ingrid both felt that they needed to _do _something against the Headmaster, and the fact that he was attempting to hide what a killer had done only showed that he had to be stopped as soon as possible.

They were currently meeting in the playroom at the Hunter's house, as Mr and Mrs Hunter had gone out for the day, so they could have their SPLAT meeting without being overheard. As Lloyd opened the meeting it appeared that he had discovered something, as he seemed very excited. When everyone was quiet, Lloyd decided not to keep the rest of SPLAT waiting, and launched into what he had discovered.

"I've been researching a number of buildings around town to see if I can locate where the Headmaster is based. Dinah said that he was on the scene of the explosion very quickly, which can only mean that his base of operations is a building in this area".

Dinah leaned forward, inquiring excitedly "Do you think you found it?" Lloyd nodded and began to outline the criteria he had used to find it. SPLAT were a team, and it was important for every member to know and understand all the information they could get, sometimes it was the only advantage they had over the Headmaster.

"I narrowed things down by seeing if there were any laboratories around here that dealt with genetics, or if the focus had suddenly been switched to genetics from a different study very recently. I also attempted to find out if the executive of any of these laboratories had been changed recently. I've found one building that seems to fit both of these search patterns. It's on a street that's only 20 minutes away from the explosion site, on the edge of town, it has a new Director and the laboratory has a focus on genetics."

From his rapt audience it appeared that SPLAT were very impressed by what he had found out. Lloyd's moment of triumph was rudely cut short by Ingrid, who exclaimed with false innocence "Did you time yourself while walking to all those buildings? It must have taken you ages!"

Lloyd spluttered indignantly and snapped "Of course I didn't you idiot! I used Google Maps! There wasn't time to _walk _to all those buildings!" Dinah sighed as Ingrid sparked off Lloyd's temper. She was clearly doing it on purpose; one of her favourite pastimes seemed to be goading Lloyd until he lost his temper. Normally it didn't bother her, but right now she was getting impatient, as she wanted to help make plans. Ian seemed to be thinking along the same lines, a he suddenly snapped "Give it a rest you two! We need to decide what we're going to do next!" This outburst from Ian, who was usually so laid-back, effectively halted the argument at once. Lloyd gave one last glare at Ingrid, before clearing his throat.

"Alright, let's take a SPLAT vote on if we're going to scout out this building. Although we get good information from Red Dragon, we can't rely on it entirely; we need to find things out ourselves too. All in favour of scouting the building?"

Instantly six hands were raised. Even Mandy and Dinah, who were the most in favour of using Red Dragon's information, could see the usefulness of exploring anything that might give them a lead. Lloyd nodded decisively, and SPLAT began discussing the best way of scouting the building.

* * *

Red Dragon carefully eased the door of her room open a fraction, knowing that if there were any whitecoats outside in the corridor, her plan for tonight would have to be cancelled. She could not see anyone, but sniffed the air, wanting to make sure there was no-one outside her door. Even though her night vision was exceptionally good, she could not rely on it entirely. Obtaining only the pungent odour of floor polish and a faint trace of disinfectant, she was gratified to discover no human scents. Fully opening the door, she began to creep down the corridor, keeping close to the wall. As she moved out of the living quarters, she was struck by such a strong wave of anxiety that her steps faltered and she almost tripped. Clutching against the wall to steady herself, she snarled faintly.

Although both Red Dragon and the Headmaster were aware that her non-human DNA had a tendency to manifest itself (usually when she was angry or in combat), she knew that he had no idea of how much the creature communicated with her. Wishing (not for the first time) that she could block this contact, she hissed furiously in her head:

_What do you want? If you distract me at the wrong time I'll be caught!_

She never received a verbal answer when she asked something of her wild parasite, but the emotions it broadcasted could easily be translated into its replies. Instantly, the apprehension was repeated, along with a small amount of reproach. Red Dragon rolled her eyes at this.

_You keep out of this! It's not like anything will happen to _you_ if someone catches me!_

A hint of resignation crept into her consciousness and also (which annoyed her the most) a definite suggestion of smugness. Hissing softly in exasperation, she began to sneak towards the specimen section of the laboratory.

She could not explain exactly what prompted her night-time excursion into the forbidden section of the laboratory, but a great sense of restlessness and unnatural energy had clamped itself upon her like a vice. These abnormal instincts and sensations were, according to the Headmaster's explanation, her body's way of assimilating the foreign DNA that had been irreversibly combined with her human DNA. Her wandering thoughts flashed guiltily to the various targets and training dummies that the Headmaster had provided for just such an outburst as the one she was currently experiencing. He had sent a whitecoat to inform her of this just as she got into bed, and she was also told of its location on the same floor. She knew that it was not from a sense of kindness or concern that the Headmaster had done this, she was well aware of his stance on feelings. She rather suspected he had provided them so that her 'outbursts' did not end up wrecking his laboratory and experiments. Tonight this outburst was so strong; she doubted whether the training room would provide enough for her to burn it all off.

Coming to a halt as she entered the main corridor of the specimens section, her luminous eyes easily deciphered the signs on the doors. The last thing she wanted to do was enter any rooms that held any kind of animal, she was certain they would detect her right away. She was also certain that they would pick up on her now aggressive nature and view her as a threat. The commotion this would cause would instantly draw attention, and her illicit exploration would be discovered. She soon spotted a door marked 'Dangerous Plant Specimens' and her eyes seemed to flare in anticipation. This would be perfect! The room ought to have enough space for her to run, and if the plants were dangerous, she was certain that they would attempt to attack her in some way, as soon as she entered the room. This would be a perfect way to release the energy pulsing through her veins, and with any luck she would be able to achieve this and get back to her room without anyone knowing that she had left it.

Testing the door, she was disappointed to find it locked. She smirked suddenly, concentrating for a brief second. Instantly, claws sprang from the fingers of one of her hands. This had been the easiest of her new abilities to master, the others being too volatile, and currently out of her reach. Inserting a claw into the lock, she began to twist it slowly, feeling the tumblers inside beginning to align in response to the claw's precise movements. There was a quiet _click_ and her teeth gleamed for a moment as she grinned in satisfaction. Putting a hand to the door, Red Dragon slowly began to ease it open, prepared to move at the slightest hint of shifting from any of the plants. As she stood in the doorway she was able to see that what she had suspected about this room was true, it would be ideal for her needs.

Creeping fully into the room she tensed, getting ready to run. As soon as she had cleared the doorway the shifting of air to her right snapped her into motion. An aggressive creeper strand stabbed at the spot where she had been crouching a moment earlier, missing her by inches as she snapped into activity. As she had done before, she concentrated briefly. Instantly claws rasped into being from the ends of her toes as well, biting into the soil covered floor. She ran steadily down the length of the room, all four limbs hitting the floor in a leaping gait. Even though Red Dragon was perfectly capable of running on two legs (and did so when she had need to run outside the lab), she was fastest on four, as well as being at her most dextrous. She ducked as a hail of spines whizzed narrowly past her head, leaping nimbly over a thorny branch that had been trying to entangle her feet. Dodging everything the plants threw at her, she began to laugh. She had been right. This was _perfect_! While she was fast and agile enough to avoid the physical attacks of the plants, there was a danger, especially from the creeper, that she had not counted on.

Red Dragon only became aware of it when a sickly-sweet aroma began to permeate the air around her, causing her movements to falter and making her cough. Eyes wide in fear she began to make her way back towards the door, actions noticeably slowing as a heaviness seemed to invade her limbs. It was lucky for her that the rest of the plants seemed to sense the release of paralysing agent into the air, as they stopped their physical attacks. Had this not happened, Red Dragon knew for certain that she could have been badly injured. However, even with this small mercy she was close to despair. Even with all her willpower, she was still a quarter of a way from the door, and she twisted desperately as her legs suddenly seemed incapable of movement. Just when it seemed she would be unable to save herself, she let out a choked gasp as someone seized her under the arms, dragging her the rest of the way and finally pulling her into the safety of the corridor. As they released her, she flopped to the ground, drawing in gasps of untainted air, and fervently wishing that she had never entered that room.

After a few moments she felt strong enough to sit up, turning slightly to discover who had rescued her. When she saw who it was, she almost wished that she was still being subjected to the creeper's paralysing agent. The Headmaster was standing at her side, glaring angrily down at her. She shrank back under his glare, dropping her eyes to the floor. When the Headmaster eventually spoke, his tone of voice caused her to back away from him even further. His voice cut through the stillness of the corridor like a knife, a sense of steel present in every word he spoke:

"I suggest that the explanation you give me for what you have done be a very, very good one"

Red Dragon briefly thought about lying to him, but just as quickly banished that notion. The Headmaster was always able to tell when she was lying, and she was certain that he was intent on punishing her for going where she had been ordered not to. If she lied to him now, she would cause the Headmaster to add to her punishment. Still staring at the floor, she did as he had ordered, explaining why she had entered a room forbidden to her.

"I-I had another 'outburst', but it was so strong, I was not sure if making use of the training room would be enough. So I thought that if I was in a place where I had to run and keep moving, I could burn off all this energy before I destroyed anything"

There was an uncomfortable silence as the Headmaster considered her explanation. Red Dragon did not expect that her explanation would save her from her punishment, but she hoped that the Headmaster could provide a way of dealing with her stronger 'outbursts'. Suddenly the Headmaster hissed,

"_Look at me_!"

Instantly she obeyed, snapping her head back to lock her burning eyes with his dark glasses. Abruptly he crouched down so that he was no longer towering over her, and once more began to speak, his voice cold with repressed anger.

"While it is true that I should have anticipated stronger 'outbursts', the way you chose to resolve this one tonight was completely unnecessary! Why did you not come to me? Before you went to bed I told you that I would be in my office. It is clear that I will have to devise a way for you to deal with stronger 'outbursts' before you end up damaging my experiments"

Red Dragon sagged with relief as the Headmaster stopped speaking. Perhaps she would escape punishment after all? Her hopes were instantly dashed when the Headmaster abruptly snapped,

"Do not think I will allow you to get away with what you did tonight! Did you honestly think you would be able to reach this section of the laboratory without me knowing? I had you watched the moment you left your room. Had you gone to the training room, you would not have been in the trouble you are in now. You are authorised to go the training room even at night if you need to contain an 'outburst'. But you did not. Instead you entered a place that I had forbidden you to enter, and what was worse, you almost got yourself killed!"

She flushed at the Headmaster's reproach, knowing that what he said was true. If she had gone to his office, she would not be in trouble, and the issue would have been resolved without anything going wrong. She wished she had considered things more when the energy had first begun emerging. She was startled when the Headmaster suddenly lifted her from the floor of the corridor, and frantically gripped the front of his lab coat. She had no notion how he knew that her legs were still paralysed, but concluded that he had created the creeper from scratch, so would know instantly what the effects of its paralysing agent would be. Silently, he began to stride back towards the living quarters, making no further acknowledgement of the girl in his arms until he had reached the door of her room. Pushing it open with his foot, he placed her on her bed, glowering at her when she did not release his lab coat. He grew even more irritated when he saw that he would have to contend with her claws as well, clearly she had believed that her fingers did not provide enough grip on their own. Having no desire to get himself scratched, he did not attempt to touch her fingers. Instead he snapped,

"Red!"

She jumped, then instantly retracted her claws and released her grip on his lab coat when she saw what he was glaring at. She was very surprised when the Headmaster sat next to her on her bed, giving her an assessing look that caused her to fidget nervously. At last he relieved her growing apprehension by speaking once again.

"Since you have demonstrated that my orders are not enough to dissuade you from acting impulsively and entering forbidden areas, it is clear that a punishment is needed to reaffirm your obedience. I sincerely hope that you do not attempt to argue with me about your punishment, you were warned of the appropriate consequences when I gave you a room in my laboratory. You will be spanked for what you did"

Red Dragon froze as the Headmaster finished speaking, barely able to believe what she had just heard. He _had _warned her of the consequences of her disobedience, but she was never certain that he would actually follow through with what he had threatened. Evidently he was about to, as he reached out for her, pulling firmly at her shoulders until she was lying face down across his knees. As soon as she was in position, the Headmaster began to lay down rules.

"Since your legs are still paralysed, I will not need to address the issue of kicking. You are allowed to...cry..."

Here a hint of distaste could be detected in the Headmaster's voice.

"You are _not _allowed to block me, and you are not to attempt to escape from me. Do any of those two things and you will make your punishment worse. Do you understand?"

Red Dragon swallowed heavily and managed a strangled,

"Y-yes S-sir"

"Good"

A moment later there was a sharp _crack_ and the Headmaster's hand crashed painfully onto her bottom. She hissed and gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to clutch at his leg. His approach to everything was to be methodical and efficient, and this task was no different. His hand seemed to impact her bottom in a distinct pattern, meaning the Red Dragon was able to predict where the next blow would land. However, this thought did nothing to help, and she squirmed slightly at the sting she felt as it began rapidly rising in intensity. While she had promised herself that she would not allow the spanking to bring her to tears, she soon found herself breaking that internal promise. After the twelfth smack she was unable to contain things any longer and broke into a bout of strangled sobs, lowering her face onto her bed.

Just when she thought that the worst was over, a wave of horror struck her as the Headmaster seized the waistband of her pyjama bottoms. She knew better than to vocalise her inner protest, yet the Headmaster must have caught on to what she was thinking as he halted the movement of his hand and growled out an explanation.

"While I would ordinarily allow you the protection of your nightwear and underwear, you disobeyed my orders, and as if that was not enough, you nearly ruined my plans by putting yourself in harm's way! Be thankful that I am content to just use my hand, your punishment could be much worse than this."

This effectively silenced any form of protest she might have attempted to make, either vocally or internally, as she had to agree with what he had said. She _had_ put herself in danger, no matter how much she wished to deny it. She whimpered as the Headmaster completely bared her bottom, before continuing to spank her, this time without the small amount of padding provided by her clothing. While before she had managed to hold back a small amount of her cries, this time she was unable to do so, and howled dismally, sounding more like an animal than a girl, as she wailed her distress. The Headmaster finally stopped spanking her when she went almost completely limp, resigning herself to her punishment, no matter how much longer it would last, with her animalistic howls becoming slightly muted as she buried her face in her blanket. The only further movement he received from her was when he pulled her underwear and pyjama bottoms back up over her reddened backside. As he did so she flinched from the contact of her clothing against her very sore bottom, her howls morphing into whimpers as she lifted her head from her blanket.

The Headmaster suddenly shifted her upright, regarding her miserable face and the tears still streaming from her eyes. Thankfully she was no longer fully crying, only sniffling now and then. Seeing that she was about to use her sleeve to clean up her face, the Headmaster captured her wrist in a hard grip as she moved her arm, before slapping a handkerchief into her hand. A sheepish expressed crossed her face, as she began to dry her streaming eyes. As soon as she was done, the Headmaster disregarded her attempts to return the now dirty handkerchief, instead sweeping back her blankets and rolling her so that she was lying on her front with her legs aligned correctly with the rest of her.

Settling the blankets back over her, the Headmaster rose from his seat on the bed, before turning and regarding her snivelling form with satisfaction. Hopefully, this would prevent her from repeating such actions as she had done tonight, which would mean that there would be fewer problems with his plans, as she would be hesitant to disobey him again. While he was infuriated by the loss of control he had over her because of her new DNA, he was also satisfied, as he would be able to do more than he had imagined with the assistance of her new abilities. Contemplating his parting orders to the girl in the bed, he finally spoke,

"Since your legs are still paralysed, it will be easier to keep you out of trouble for the next few days. The paralysis will wear off by the end of the week, but you will not be allowed outside of your room for the next two weeks. Your meals will be brought to you, and the only time you will be allowed to leave your room will be if you experience another 'outburst'. That is the only time. Now, go to sleep. I will see you tomorrow".

Having finished his orders, the Headmaster left the room, locking the door securely behind him. As an added precaution, he set two whitecoats to guard the door, just in case she picked the lock (he had not missed that she had somehow picked the lock of the plant specimen room). He had no wish to waste anymore time tonight on someone who had so completely disobeyed his orders. She would have to go without his help in order to sleep.

Sniffling miserably into her pillow, Red Dragon vowed to curb her impulses and think things through, as she did not want such behaviour to get her spanked again. The gloom she felt was not in any way improved by a wave of smugness from the creature bonded with her that indicated without a doubt '_I warned you_'.


End file.
